The Life of a Demigod
by trustingHim17
Summary: Paiten Grace Noland never dreamed her life would be anything other than normal. Her parents divorced when she was young, so she had a home in two states, on opposite sides of the U.S. A devout Christian, she believes in the one true God. However, the last week of freshman year, everything changed... Rated T for safety,K plus is probably a bit more accurate though. No flames please!
1. Chapter 1

**My disclaimer for all my stories is on my profile.**

My name is Paiten Grace Noland, but call me anything but Grace and I'll skewer you. I have curly golden blonde hair and blue/silver eyes. Well, mom says they're blue/gray, but I've always thought silver was prettier than gray, so I call them blue/silver. Anyway, I wear glasses and I love pink to the point it's the only thing I will wear. As normal as I sound, I'm not, but I didn't find out the truth about my family tree until I was 14. However, my life was complicated long before that.

My life began outside of Denver, Colorado where I was born to Lee and Marie Noland. My parents' marriage didn't last long, and by the time I turned five, they had divorced. When I was six, Mom moved me to Tennessee. She said it was to go back to where she grew up, but I always had a vague memory of a man in a trench coat following me on the playground. The teachers wouldn't believe that he only had one eye. I never told mom, but the next week she announced we were moving.

I started the second half of my first grade year in a small Christian school an hour away from Nashville. I made a couple of friends my age, but some strange occurrences and the quickly growing city made mom move us to a tiny town on the Cumberland Plateau. I wasn't kicked out, per say, but the mysteriously exploding school bus pretty much got rid of my friends. My third grade year found me in a two-grade class of fifteen at the church school I attended. I grew up in this small town, spending four years at that private school before transferring to public. Mom wanted me to make some friends, but I told her she was crazy. The students in my class were _mean._ Looking back, I have to wonder how many of those students weren't really students. However, nothing made us move again, and I started high school at fourteen.

I found the Percy Jackson books my sixth grade year; right after Sea of Monsters was released. Being a very strong Christian, I never believed they were right, but I did prefer living in fantasy rather than reality. Reality was full of bullies, but in books, I could be myself. I could be the hero I hoped was inside me.

Ever since Mom divorced Dad, it seemed she always had a boyfriend. I only knew three, but after one left, it was never long before she had another. The first two I met didn't matter much. They were jerks, but they were human. The third, however, was not human and was really good with the mist.

Mom married Cecil right before my Freshman year, and by then I was well versed in my faith and in the fantasy world of gods and monsters. Cecil decided that knowing about them was enough, and, at the end of my freshman year, I found out that my faith was not the only faith.

"Bye Mom!" I set off on my bike towards school. Since I didn't want to ride the bus, I carpooled with mom to her work and rode my bike from there. After fifteen minutes of hard pedaling, I parked my bike behind the JROTC building and walked down to the training course. I worked out a little every morning, even though this was the last week of school. After training, I walked to the other side of campus for my first block, and opened my book to wait for class. Reading was the only thing my ADHD let me focus on for more than a few minutes. Thirty minutes later, the bell rang, and the boring end-of-the-year classes began.

Finally, the weekend! And only one more day until summer! I walked out of fourth block to my bike. On the way there, I passed another of the loners at school, Aaron. I had noticed several months ago that he displayed an unusual limp. It reminded me of my books. Grover the satyr had a limp. But I blew it off. There are no Greek gods.

A fifteen-minute ride brought me into town, where mom was waiting to go. She tried to get me talking about school, but gave up after some one-word answers. She seemed more nervous than usual. I had refined my awareness after reading the books, pretending I was a demigod, and I knew something was up. I found out what it was when we reached the house—kind of. Cecil was waiting on the couch. I plopped down in front of my computer as I always do and started reading online. I was just getting to a good part when I sensed danger.

Glancing around, Cecil was gone, and in his place was something I recognized from my favorite series. But Laistrygonian giants couldn't be real! Obviously, this was. I don't have dreams like this. Deciding to follow my instinct, I turned and ran. I reached the top of the driveway faster than I thought possible, but I didn't have time to think about that. I ran around to the area that had the least amount of houses, and hid. I had no idea what to do. Greek mythology was real, and I knew how to kill this monster, but I didn't have a weapon.

I had fired a bow before, so I looked around for resources to make a slingshot. However, when I reached out to grab a stick, a silver bow appeared in my hand. My eyes widened. This was a Hunter's bow! Thanking Artemis, I pulled the string back, and an arrow appeared. Right as the giant caught up to me, I fired, and was promptly covered in dust. Dropping the bow, I ran back to the house trying to figure out what just happened.

"Grace? Grace, where did you go?" Mom apparently noticed I left the house. Darn.

"Just went for a walk, Mom." I decided to test her. "Where's Cecil?"

A puzzled look crossed her face. "You know what happened to Cecil. He stole all that money and scuba gear, so I kicked him out."

_She can't see through the Mist. _I shook my head as if to clear it. "Oh. Right."

She walked off and I shut down my computer. I don't feel like attracting any more monsters for now. Mom stayed at her computer, and I decided to go to my room to think things over.

_Okay, I'm a demigod. That giant wouldn't have attacked if I wasn't. But how could this be true? Christ is the one true God. _But then I remembered a verse of Scripture. "God is the Lord of lords." That could explain this.

_So Christ is real. He is Lord above all. God created the earth in seven days as the Bible says. Then the Greeks created their gods, and they rule humans under the King of kings. Like servants? Don't mention that. They may not be omniscient, but they do know a lot. Anyway, that means camp exists too. I have two options. I could either try to find the satyr assigned to me, or I can make a run for camp. Make that three. I could ask Artemis to help me again. I wonder who my parent is? The major god/goddess I'm most like is Athena. Or maybe—darn ADHD. Back to the topic. What to do. There's only one day of school left. I'll see if I can find a satyr. If I can't I'll make a run for it. _

With my need to plan settled (really thinking Athena. Then again, it could be anyone. I do have both parents), I anxiously waited for Monday. I didn't have to worry too much about mom finding anything. I never told her any details.

**Here's the first chapter of my newest story! This chapter is more of a character build, so the next one should be a bit better. I plan to update every week, but reviews make updates come faster! Constructive criticism is welcome but flames are for making s'mores! Btw, I am a Christian. And I find it necessary to make it very clear that in NO WAY do I believe Greek mythology is real. God is the one true God and I serve Him. This story is purely fiction.**


	2. Chapter 2

After the longest weekend ever—and mom wondering where Cecil went with her scuba gear and money, which was actually missing. I didn't know the Mist could do that (that was what she was nervous about Friday)—Monday finally came. After rethinking who at school could be a satyr, I narrowed it down to one person: Aaron. He ate anything, he had a weird laugh, and he had a limp. At the end of the day, I found him beside my bike, waiting.

I managed to sneak up on him, "You here to take me to camp?" He jumped a foot off the ground, while I cracked a smile.

"How much do you know?" he asked.

"Oh, not much," I said sarcastically, "I've read all the Percy books. I never thought they were true until my stepdad turned into a Laistrygonian on Friday. I've been trying to figure out my parentage all weekend. Eventually, I gave up and started narrowing down who the satyr was. Came up with you. If you hadn't been waiting on me and weren't on campus, I'd be on my way to New York tonight."

By now, his eyes were wide. "Okay, you're the only one who figured out who their satyr was before the satyr told them. But we need to get going. How do you get home?"

"Ride my bike to mom's work and have her drive me home. But you need to come. I thought this out over the weekend. I'll call mom and say I found a summer college class last minute that'll take me and that you're going there too. You decided to go with me. I have church camp in two weeks, I'll tell her the class starts tomorrow. That's long enough for us to get to Long Island, and teach me how to use my bow before my other camp. Dad'll just have to understand. If you can balance on my handlebars, we can get home, pack me for both camps, and make our way to New York."

I was about to continue editing my plans when he broke in, "Woah, woah, woah! Slow down. I can't keep up. You have a mom _and_ dad? What's this other camp? Why would you still go to church camp when you think you're a demigod?"

I laughed. "Yes, I have a mom and dad. One of them obvious is an adopted parent; otherwise, that Laistrygonian wouldn't have attacked. This "other camp" is the Wilds and I refuse to miss it. Red flags will go up if I no-show to that or the reward trip in August. I'm Christian. The Greek gods were created by humans. God created humans and the "Greek gods." I also don't want a man-hunt like Percy went through. My mom can't see through the Mist and my dad's in Colorado. So we'll go to my house, let me pack, and tell mom I'll see her at the end of summer. If she doesn't buy it, well, I've got another trick up my sleeve." I glanced at my watch. "Shoot, we've been talking for five minutes. Let me call mom, then we can leave." I pulled out my phone and dialed before he could answer. After I got off, I said, "Ok, I think she bought it. Hop on. We need to get moving."

He climbed on the handlebars, mumbling something about electronics, ADHD, and skipping thoughts. We didn't talk much during the ride, so I thought about who my parent would be—for the first few minutes. Then I couldn't resist and turned on my mp3. Right before we finished the ride, I saw a shadow in the woods.

"Aaron?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna keep pedaling. Can you steer the bike?"

"Yeah."

"Good." The shadow became more defined. "Because I need to kill that dracaena." I took my hands off the handlebars and my bow appeared. Right then, the dracaena showed herself. With one swift movement, I pulled the string back, waited the millisecond for the arrow to appear, and shot her between the eyes. She dissolved into dust as her essence returned to Tartarus.

Aaron had his jaw dropped, but I ignored him as I dropped my bow and took over control of the bike, singing along to my music. Aaron said something. I paused my music and had him repeat himself.

"Where'd your bow come from?"

"I don't know. When my stepdad turned into a monster, I ran. I was looking for something to make a quick weapon. When I reached out, the Hunter's bow appeared. I think Artemis likes me. Whether that makes her my mom, or not, I don't know."

He was about to ask something else, but right then we pulled up to my mom's work.  
"Let me do the talking." He nodded, and we got into the back of the car. I didn't want Mom to be able to see my face. As little as we talked, she'd still be able to tell I was lying.

"Hey, Mom. This is Aaron. He's a classmate of mine and he's also doing the class. He offered to let me ride with him."

"Hey Aaron. So, Grace, where is this class, how long is it, and how are you two going to get there?"

I laughed. "Slow down, Mom! This class is in New York, it lasts all summer, except a one-week break coincidentally during camp, and we are flying. The class offered free airfare and Aaron has transport with some other classmates. Don't say that next thought. I will be fine, and I have to go. This class will teach me how to survive in the real world."

That gave her something to think about. She stayed quiet until we got into the house.

"You can't go. I'm sorry, honey, but I don't know Aaron, we don't know anyone in New York, and you're only fourteen."

**Early update! Hope you enjoy it. I didn't think I'd have time to update tomorrow b/c we're celebrating my birthday. Please review! Out of over 20 people who have seen this story, only one reviewed. We writers live on reviews, so click that button please!**


	3. Chapter 3

At that, I knew I had to trick her the demigod way. I had already tried this on her once, so I knew it would work. I gave Aaron the quiet sign and got in front of my mom. Looking her in the eye, I snapped my fingers and felt the distinct ripple in the air.

"I'm going to class and camp for the summer with Aaron. You are fine with this and it's ok that we are leaving tonight. You also will tell Dad about this after I leave."

I felt horrible doing this, but there was no way I was going to put her in danger by letting her see through the Mist. As I snapped, she got a dreamy look on her face, and after I finished talking, she immediately said, "Yes, of course. Go get packed, honey. You leave tonight," and got on her computer.

"Thanks, Mom! Come on, Aaron. I need to pack." We walked upstairs to my room. Once I closed my bedroom door, his question burst out.

"How did you know how to manipulate the Mist?!"

"I read the _Titan's Curse _when it came out. Friday, after I figured out that I'm a demigod, I decided to try it. I told Mom that she had to do my chores for that night. She did them without question."

"Cool! And nice house," Aaron commented.

"Thanks. It's pretty nice to have some privacy. As I pack, if you see something you know I'll need that I haven't grabbed, tell me." He nodded and I set to work.

Grabbing the bag I use for school, I took out the books and started shoving clothes and camp gear in. As that bag started to fill, Aaron suddenly spoke up. "Hey, what's this?"

I turned around and my eyes grew wide. "Where'd you find that?" He was holding a silvery bag that I recognized from the _Titan's Curse_.

"Lying here on the bed."

I walked over and inspected it. Sure enough, it was a Hunter's bag. "Artemis, are you saying that I'm your daughter or that you like me?" I mumbled. "Either way, thanks."

I went over to my backpack, emptied everything out, and started grabbing every essential thing from my room—even things I knew would be at camp. Hygiene, all my clothes, stuff I needed for the Wilds, all my books, my pictures and mementoes, my pillow, my camp bedding, a few blankets, some of my jewelry—because I might be able to make it into a weapon—and, when Aaron wasn't looking, I sneaked in my computer, phone, kindle, and mp3, along with their cords. I knew electronics attracted monsters, but no monsters could get inside camp and I hoped one of Hephaestus campers could modify them to be monster-proof. The bag still appeared empty and I looked at Aaron and laughed.

"I wonder if this is where the "bottomless pit purse" idea came from. I love this bag. It usually takes two bags to carry my stuff for one week of camp. I wasn't sure how I would fit eight to ten weeks' worth into one. I'm ready. You need to pick anything up?" He shook his head. "Then let's head to camp." We ran down the stairs. Mom was still on her computer.

"See you in August, Mom!"

"Bye, Grace. Have fun! Will you need a ride from school to camp?"

"No, Mom. All transportation is part of the scholarship."

She nodded, and, after hugging her goodbye, Aaron and I walk out the door.

"Are we taking Pegasi?" He nodded. "Do we need to call for them through Iris Message?" He nodded again. "Follow me." I took off downhill behind my house.

About ten yards away, a small stream created mist and the sun made a rainbow. When he saw this, Aaron took out a drachma and tossed it in with, "Iris, accept my offering. Show me Chiron at Camp Half-Blood."

The call shimmered, then cleared to show the archery range full of campers. I gave Aaron a _You talk _look. Me and my fear of people. Anyway, Aaron called out.

"Hey, Chiron!" Said centaur turned toward the message. "Can you send two pegasi?"

"Hello, Aaron, and are you Paiten?"

"My name is Grace," I replied stiffly. I hate my first name. "but yes, I believe Aaron was sent to find me." Chiron raised an eyebrow, but acknowledged my name.

"Well, Grace, I do hope you'll make it safely. Aaron, the pegasi will meet you by the lake in twenty minutes." Chiron disconnected before either Aaron or I could respond.

"Lake?" Aaron wondered aloud.

"You haven't been following me for long if you don't know there's a ten-acre pond near my house, I replied dryly. "My neighborhood is a two-mile loop. The easiest access to the pond is on the other side. We have about a mile to walk. If we do it fast, we should get there before the pegasi."

I started jogging before he could ask any more question, thinking it was pretty weird that I knew more than my satyr did. Usually the new demigod was asking the satyr questions.

"Am I your first demigod?" He nodded. _Well, that explains it. _My ADHD kicked in soon after we started, so I again sneaked out my mp3. At this point, I don't care if I have to battle a monster. I'll be the first to admit I'm addicted to music. It's one of the few things that I can focus on for more than a few minutes.

It took us about ten minutes to get to the lake, which meant we had about ten minutes to wait. Did I mention I hate waiting? Well, I do. Finally, after what felt like _hours_, I spotted two shapes flying toward us. Aaron saw them at the same time I did.

The two pegasi soon landed, and I audibly gasped. They were beautiful! One was a golden brown, but I really liked the other's painted markings. I climbed on the painted horse while Aaron took the golden brown, and we set off.

The ride went quicker than I expected, but that may be because I still had my music on. After about an hour, we landed next to the Big House at camp and I shut off my music.

**Hello, readers! I know I said I usually update once a week, but I decided I can do whatever I want to on my birthday! So I guess you could call this chapter a b-day present from me! Remember, I live on reviews! Under normal circumstances, more reviews=faster updates!**

**Review responses:  
Kate (Guest): Glad you like that story and I'm always happy when someone is looking forward to future chapters! As for you last comment, thanks for the compliment, just make sure you read my AN on the first chapter! :)**

Bay (Guest): Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you enjoy my story!

**Raven Girl 12301 (Guest): So glad you love it! I usually update about once a week.**

**ButterLover2345: Definitely!**

**Guest: that's quite creepy...**


	4. Chapter 4

Chiron came outside in centaur form—I guess since I already saw him through the IM, he thought I wouldn't be too startled. He was right. Anyway, he went straight to business.

"Hello, Grace. It's nice to see you got here safely. Do you have any questions?" I shook my head. "Then, Aaron, why don't you introduce her to her cabin mates. She'll be in Hermes until she's claimed, as usual."

Aaron nodded and took off, motioning me to follow him.

"…And there's the archery range, the climbing wall, and you already know all the cabins." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw familiar honey-blonde hair. A second later, Aaron confirms by calling out, "Hey Annabeth, come meet our new camper." Annabeth smiled and walked over.

"Hey, I'm Grace, Undetermined." I told her, extending my hand to shake.

She took it, "Annabeth, daughter of Athena. You're the calmest new camper I've seen in a while."

I laughed, "Blame your senior scribe. I know the basics already. It's just a matter of changing them from the fiction category to the nonfiction." Noticing the look on her face, I quickly explained, "No, I don't have dyslexia and, yes, I have read all the Percy Jackson books. I've been reading them for years. Speaking of Percy, where is he?"

"Here I thought only the Athena campers knew about the senior scribe. And I was just looking for him. He probably isn't here yet. His private schools usually run later than most public do." I nodded and she turned to go. "See you later Grace!"

I turned to Aaron. "Introduce me to my cabin? I probably know everyone, but it will look weird for the new camper to know people she's never met, and I don't feel like explaining the books to the Hermes kids." With a nod, he led me to cabin eleven and opened the door. I glanced around inside. Seems I got lucky. Only Connor and Travis are here.

"Hey, guys." Aaron said to get their attention. "You have a new cabinmate."

They turned around and appraised me. I rolled my eyes. "Regular or Undetermined?" one of them asked. I think it was Connor.

"Undetermined. Got some space for me?" The heck with keeping quiet. I want to keep my stuff and they'll only leave me alone if they respect me.

"Guys, this is Grace. Grace, Connor's on the left and Travis is on the right." Nice, I was right. "And a word of advice to you both. Grace has mastered her bow. I'd leave her alone." I glanced at him, _Thanks_. He nodded to me and left, while I turned back to the two elves.

"So which spot is mine and when's dinner?"

Connor pointed to a bare spot in the corner and Travis said, "One hour."

"That works. I'll be wandering." I turned and walked out—with my bag. Hermes is the god of thieves—expecting them to follow and try to pickpocket me. Apparently, either Aaron's comment about my bow or my directness startled them, because they didn't follow.

I wandered around for a little while with no purpose in mind. Eventually, my thoughts turned to my godly parent, and how to get claimed. Today was Monday, which meant that, unless I wanted to wait a week to try to get claimed during capture the flag, like Percy did, I needed to find a way to get noticed. I decided to find Annabeth and ask how she got claimed. I had multiple reasons for choosing her, but that's for another time.

I found Annabeth in her cabin looking at battle diagrams, which made sense considering Percy would turn sixteen in August. She looked up as I entered.

"Hey, Grace. What's up?"

"I was wondering how you got claimed. I'm trying to think of a way to make my parent claim me. I don't want to wait until capture the flag Friday."

She set down her diagrams. "I got claimed during Capture the Flag about a year after I got to camp. But if we narrow it down, maybe your parent will feel obligated to claim you because they don't want you to figure it out on your own. Which parent is it? Mom or dad?"

I sighed. "I don't know. I have both of my parents. But we can narrow it down by what I like, can't we?"

"We could," she replied. "But that might take a while."

"Oh. Well, I know you're busy. I'll let you get back to your battle plans," I told her, putting disappointment on my face and throwing in the battle plans comment to startle her.

"Wait. How did you know I was looking at battle plans?" Hook, line, time to sink her.

"Easy. Percy's turning sixteen in August and you're a daughter of Athena. The only thing you would be doing during free time is going over battle plans." The look on her face was priceless. I wanted to know my parent, and now I had her interested in me.

"You know what? Let's figure out your parent. If we get close enough, they might claim you." She smiled, put down her plans, and picked up a notebook. "Let's start with the major gods. They have the most kids—that we know of anyway. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Dionysus, Hera, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Apollo, and Artemis."

"You can cross out the Big Three," I told her. "No child of Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades could have made it to fourteen in the mortal world without being attacked. And do the same for Dionysus and Demeter. I don't do plants. Hera doesn't have kids. I don't like to fight, which crosses out Ares, and I'm not a prep, which takes out Aphrodite. I would cross out Artemis, except for my bag, my eyes, and this." My bow appeared in my hand. Annabeth looked shocked. "That leaves Hephaestus, Athena, Apollo, and Artemis."

Annabeth broke in, "What do you mean your eyes? Your eyes look blue/gray. And how did you get a Hunter's bag and bow?"

"My eyes sometimes look blue/gray, but sometimes look blue/silver. My bow appeared when my stepdad turned into a Laistrygonian and my bag showed up on my bed while I was packing to come here. I can't figure out if Artemis broke her vow, or if she just likes me."

"Oh. Let's look at Apollo. Do you like to sing?"

"I can't sing at all, but I love music."

"All Apollo children can sing. Now Hephaestus. Do you build stuff in your spare time?"

I shook my head. "I love to fix things, but I don't build whenever I can. I usually read."

Annabeth looked like she had an idea, but didn't want to share it. "That only leaves Athena and Artemis." Right then, we heard some commotion outside. Running out, we saw someone fighting at the top of Half-Blood Hill.

**Thank you to the one person that reviewed! you get cookies! (::) (::) Everyone else, thank you for reading and please, please, please review! I want to know what you like and what I could make better.**


	5. Chapter 5

**In case you're wondering, the disclaimer for all my stories is on my profile.**

"Darn Manticore. You'd think it'd leave Percy alone," I said, turning to Annabeth as we ran toward the fight. "Put your hat on and go around its back. I'll try to hit it with an arrow while you distract it." Before she could reply, and it looked like she wanted to, we reached the top of the hill.

Annabeth took out her cap and vanished, while I stood a ways off, waiting for my shot. Percy was too busy trying to avoid the spikes and get in a hit to notice me standing off to the side. The manticore shot a spike that I thought was going to hit Percy, but deflected off his sword at the last minute. I could sense Annabeth off to my right, trying to get behind the monster and stay out of my line of fire. After forever—or thirty seconds in demigod time—I saw my shot. The manticore shot a spike that Percy dodged by rolling to the side. That put the monster's left side to me, and gave me a perfect shot to its neck. I fired, and, a second later, we were looking at a pile of dust. Annabeth reappeared behind Percy and tackled him in a hug. They started walking up the hill, and soon they were close enough for me to hear their conversation.

"Where's Thalia?" Percy was asking.

"And what makes you think Thalia's here?" I called before Annabeth could answer.

"Uh, the arrow?"

I laughed, then willed my bow to appear, with an arrow. "You mean this? Thalia's not the only one with silver arrows." Percy looked to Annabeth for an explanation, seeing as how I was laughing too hard.

"Grace just showed up today. Either Artemis broke her vow, or Artemis decided she likes Grace. Grace has a Hunter's bag and bow. We were trying to figure out who her parent is when you showed up."

By now, we were almost to the cabins. "Hey, Annabeth," I started. "When we ran to attack the manticore, you looked like you wanted to say something, but you didn't have time. What was it?"

She studied me, looking nervous, but, after a little hesitation, answered, "I was about to tell you that that sounded like a plan worthy of A—" she broke off, staring above my head. I looked up and grinned. I had a glowing owl above my head. "Athena," she finished. "Grace you're my sister!"

Chiron, who was behind me, called "Hail, Grace Noland, daughter of Athena." A silver glow surrounded me. "and blessed by Artemis." Everyone was staring at me and it was making me nervous. I was grateful that right then, the conch blew, signaling dinner.

"We'll get you settled into the cabin after dinner, okay?" Annabeth said. I nodded, and followed her to our cabin to line up, then to dinner.

Dinner went as I expected. I sat on the end, but at least I wasn't hanging off. The Athena cabin was nowhere near as full as the Hermes. As we sat down after giving our offering, Annabeth introduced me to the cabin.

"This is Malcom, my second-in-command. There's Hope, Adrian, Daphne…" She named off around ten names, but there was no way I could keep track of everyone. "Everyone, this is Grace, your new sister."

I waved. "Hi." I received some hi's and a few smiles, but most just nodded hello and dug in.

After everyone finished eating, Chiron stood up and tapped a hoof to get everyone's attention. Mr. D had already left. I overheard that he was going too check up on the minor gods, to make sure they were on the right side.

"Welcome to the first day of summer! I am glad that you all made it safely back and with most of your limbs attached. We have a new camper, Grace Noland, daughter of Athena." I felt everyone's eyes on me again. My face flamed. "Capture the flag is still scheduled for Friday. Ares cabin currently holds the laurels." Ugly cheers came from cabin five's table. "Now go to your campfire."

Everyone else cheered and raced to the campfire, but I decided I was done being stared at for one night and slipped off to cabin six. Thanks to the books, I didn't need a formal tour. I knew where everything was. Looking around, I picked an unoccupied bunk in the corner and opened my bag. Getting out my pajamas, I changed clothes, climbed into bed, then opened one of my books. I wanted to check out the books on the shelves, but I wasn't sure if there were any rules about them. I had almost finished my book when I heard the rest of the cabin coming. Closing my book and settling in, I pretended to be asleep. I already felt at home, but a lot had happened that day. I didn't really want to talk. My cabinmates walked in the door, chattering.

"Hey, where's the newbie? Anyone see her at the campfire?"

"Come to think of it, no. Hey Annabeth, you know where she went?" That girl didn't sound any older than I am.

I could almost hear Annabeth roll her eyes. "If you would look more and talk less, Kimmy, you would see that she claimed a bunk in the back and is already asleep." A few of the older campers laughed, but Kimmy laughed with them at herself.

"Okay, everyone," Annabeth said. "Ten minutes to get ready for bed. Then lights out!"

I heard everyone scramble to change, and, ten minutes later, the lights were off and all was quiet.

That was my first day at Camp Half-Blood, and I loved my new home. I felt I might actually be accepted here. I never felt that among my classmates at home.

The next day during the free time before dinner, I went to the forge. I needed a better weapon than my bow for close range fighting, and I had some questions. As I was about to knock on the door, I recognized two more book characters. Charles Beckendorf and Silena Beauregard walked towards me, hand-in-hand. Beckendorf saw me standing there and called over, "Hey! It's Grace isn't it? The new daughter of Athena?"

"Yes, you must be Beckendorf." He nodded. "I've got a question for you. I'm sure you've heard about Artemis giving me a bow, but I need a weapon for close range fighting. Is it possible to make an existing coin or piece of jewelry into a weapon?"

"Yes, it should be possible, but it depends on the item."

I took my cross ring off my finger and my favorite Kennedy Space Center coin out of my pocket. "Would you, or someone in your cabin, be able to change these into a shield and sword? I wear these all the time and I would get fewer questions back home if my family doesn't see me with new stuff."

He looked them over for a minute, then nodded. "Yeah, I could change these for you. Take maybe two or three days."

I smiled, "That's perfect. What'll I owe you? I don't have anything now, but I could pay you later."

He waved it off. "Don't worry about it. Every demigod needs a weapon that fits them."

"If you're sure…"

He laughed. "I'm sure." The he asked me all kinds of questions about my weight, how strong I am, what kind of grips I like, et cetera. When he was satisfied, he kissed his girlfriend on the cheek, told me he'd find me when it was done, and went inside, presumably to start working. I grinned and turned to tell Silena that her boyfriend was cool, but she was already talking to someone else, so I wandered off to explore some more.

I found Annabeth reading a book on the steps of the Athena cabin. I didn't see Percy anywhere and I figured he was either off with Rachel or in the ocean. I couldn't see the title, so I spoke up.

"What are you reading?"

Annabeth looked up, smiled, and showed me the cover. _Architecture Around the World. _Written in Ancient Greek. Of course. I should have guessed she would be reading about architecture. I smiled, and, before she could translate the title to me, I read it aloud, "_Architecture Around the World. _Nice."

After a second of enjoying the shock on her face, I explained. "I've been reading those books since they came out. I taught myself a little Greek, but I never considered the reason it was so easy for me because everything's easy for me to learn."

She laughed, then stood up. "Want a tour of the cabin? Those books don't give very much detail."

"You bet!"

I followed her inside and she started, "The beds, obviously, are all on the left wall, while the other side's bookshelves with our workspace in the middle and back. On this side is a collection of fiction books. The other end has research material. Both sides are alphabetical by author and title. We don't have a sign out or anything, just make sure you keep track of what you take."

As I listen to her, I walk down the aisle, looking at the books. I thought this cabin would have more than a single bookcase full. About halfway down, I found where the rest were. By now, she was watching me intently, her monologue over.

"Annabeth?"

"Yeah?"

"Were you going to tell me about the secret room?" Her jaw hit the floor. I reached behind the book in front of me and grabbed the hidden lever. With a slight tug, a small door opened up.

"It must be the blessing of Artemis." Annabeth told me as she followed me into the library. "No other camper has found the door that fast. It's our typical test. In this cabin, newbies are known by how fast they find the hidden room."

I grinned. "Cool, but we better go. I can explore later. It's almost dinner time." We left the library—which I loved, by the way—and found the rest of the cabin walking in to line up. Their jaws dropped as far as Annabeth's had.

"Why'd you show her the library instead of letting her find it?" Malcolm asked.

Annabeth shook her head. "I didn't show her. She found it on her first pass."

"Woah. You know what that means, Grace?" I shook my head. "That means you become third in line. All lines go by rank, and, in the Athena cabin, we go by how long it takes you to find the door."

I decided to poke some fun. "And how long did it take you to find it, Malcolm?" He mumbled something that sounded like "three days" and I laughed. "So you mean you line up first and second in command, then by how fast you find the door."

The rest of the cabin laughed and a girl toward the back spoke up.

"Yeah Malcolm, if we're going only by time, then you should be behind me!"

Everyone but Malcolm laughed harder, and Annabeth called out between giggles, "Okay, everyone, that's enough. We don't want to miss dinner." She turned around and led the line out the door and up to the pavilion, with everyone else following close behind.

I finally felt part of the group. I was no longer the newbie. At dinner and the campfire, we as a cabin laughed and had a great time. As I crawled into bed, I thought about everything that had happened, and I fell asleep looking forward to my summer full of Camp Half-Blood and The Wilds.

**Thank you to godsarereal for reviewing! As incentive for more reviews, this chapter is twice my usual length. If I get more than 2 reviews for this chapter, they'll stay that long. Hope you enjoyed!**

**i think if reviews=happy author (which is true)**

**and happy author=more updates (which is also true)**

**then should more updates=happy reader**

**and happy reader=more reviews? **

**let's prove my theory! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Three days later, Beckendorf walked up to me after breakfast. "Hey, Grace, your weapons areS done. Come to forge with me and you can get it."

"Awesome. Let's go!" He laughed and started walking to the forge, with me close behind. Inside, he led me to a table and handed me my ring and coin.

"To change the ring, press the center stone, and to change the coin, squeeze it."

I slipped my ring on to try first. Making sure I had enough room, I pressed the stone. Leather wrapped around my arm and a shield expanded outward. On the shield was the owl that appeared above my head the day I was claimed.

"I love it!" I picked up the coin and gave it a squeeze. A millisecond later, I held double-edge celestial bronze sword. It felt perfectly balanced in my hand. "Awesome!" I turned away from Beckendorf and swung it a couple times. "Thank you! It's perfect!" I told him. "You sure I don't owe you something?"

He grinned, obviously glad I liked it. "I'm sure. To change the sword back, press that owl you see above your thumb. To change the shield, straighten your index finger. It'll bump a switch that reverts it back to your ring. Also, you can never lose either. Chiron told me a way to make them like Percy's sword. No matter how far away it is, the ring will return to your hand and the coin your pocket."

"Thanks a lot." I changed the shield back and was about to change the sword back when I heard a voice in my head. _Think of any weapon while focusing on the sword. A blessed of the Hunt must have the perfect weapon for the job. _For a second, I was stunned, then tried it. I thought of Annabeth's knife, and a second later, my sword had shortened to a knife. _Thanks Artemis._ Beckendorf's jaw dropped. What is it with people's jaw dropping?

"How did you do that? I didn't make it able to change forms."

"Artemis just told me that part of her blessing is the ability to make my weapon change form." I suddenly held a rifle, then a pistol. "Pretty cool, huh? It looks like no matter the shape, the owl is above my hand, and the guns are loaded. I wonder if the guns reload themselves," I ask myself. "Anyway, thanks again. I need to go practice. None of the practice swords were balanced for me, so I haven't been able to do much in class." I waved and, changing my pistol back to coin form, and slipped it into my pocket. Leaving the forge, I headed straight for the arena. Conveniently enough, I was supposed to be there anyway.

"There you are, Grace! Did you get your weapon?" Annabeth called. I nodded. "Took you long enough," she teased. "You and Kimmy are partners."

I spent the next couple of hours practicing with my sword and shield. My knowledge of the books, Artemis' blessing, and my heritage as daughter of Athena made me an extremely quick learner. At the end of that session, I went over to Annabeth and asked if she would spar with me. I didn't tell her, but I thought that my shield and this ability to change my weapon might give me an advantage over the second best swordsman in camp. She smirked, probably thinking she could beat me easily, and agreed.

We both assumed a fighting stance. Annabeth brandished her knife, while I squeezed my coin, activating my sword. She swung toward my shoulder, but with a quick swipe, her blade bounced off my sword. She kept me busy, but never got a hit. We were moving so fast, others told us later that we were both a blur. After a few minutes, I was starting to wear down, so I deployed my trick. Spinning my ring with my thumb, I pressed the center stone. Just as her blade came down, my shield expanded. Shock registered on her face as her blade clanged off. I smiled and performed the only move I learned from the books. Using her shock to my advantage, I got her with the disarming maneuver. Her knife clattered to the ground and my sword stopped an inch from her undefended chest.

We were both breathing heavy. I thought she might get mad that the newest camper beat her, but she took it well.

"Good job, Grace. Good idea using my shock to your advantage. You'll have to fight with me again." She winked, gathered our cabin up, and moved us out to our next activity.

I spent the next week and a half training. I practiced changing my weapon's form and battling with any weapon I could think of. I practiced at the archery range and soon was hitting bull's eyes every time.

The morning I was due to leave for the Wilds, I found a note on my bed.

_Press the center stone on your necklace. I modified it to function like Annabeth's hat. I was going to give it to you on your birthday, but you should have it at the Wilds. So happy early birthday, Grace._

_Athena._

I thanked her and grabbed my bag to leave. Afraid that Annabeth or Chiron might try to prevent me from going, I left a note saying where I was going and when I would be back. I didn't want to risk being held back. I knew people would look for me if I didn't show up and I needed a break. We were in constant battle prep. I pressed the stone and sneaked invisibly to the stables.

Walking in, I reverted to visible and called to the pegasi, "Any of you willing to give me a ride to Tennessee?" The painted horse I rode here two weeks ago neighed and cantered over. "Nice. I wish I knew your name." She turned and looked at the stall she left. I followed her eyes and saw a nameplate. "Jellybean. It fits you. You ready to go?" She bobbed her head, and I climbed on. "We're going almost to where you picked me up. When we get close, I'll direct you."

She took off, and just in time. I thought I saw Annabeth coming. Anyway, an hour later, I started guiding her to my church. When we made it to the woods above the church, I told her, "You can set me down here. Will you pick me up at about two o'clock Saturday afternoon?" The Pegasus nodded and took off, headed back north, and I walked onto church property.

Thankfully, I managed to join the group without anybody noticing I appeared out of the woods instead of a car.

"Hey, Grace. You ready to leave?" Andy called over. Andy was one of the youth leaders. I nodded. "Where are your bags?" I pointed to my Hunter's bag on my back.

"Wow. Light packer." _You have no idea. _I nodded again. Andy turned to the group and started counting. "I think we have everyone. So load up!" The teens and leaders crowded into the two vans and we were off.

I never talked much around this group, so nobody thought it weird when I curled into a corner and opened a book. I found Ancient Greek easier to read, of course. But since I didn't have dyslexia, I could read English better than most demigods. I opened my book and settled in for the five-hour ride, praying to both Almighty God and to the Greek gods that there would be no monsters this week—or at least on the ride there and back. My prayers were answered for now and, five hours later, we pulled into the parking lot at the Wilds.

It felt great to stretch my legs. It had been about three hours since our break for lunch and my ADHD was in full gear. During the ride, I had managed to hold a conversation with Karen, Andy's wife, without making her suspicious.

"How have you been, Grace?" she asked as she turned partway around.

"Pretty good." I flashed a smile, however fake. "I've been keeping busy."

"Yeah, your mom told me about that class in New York. Are you enjoying it?"

"Very much. It's so much fun. You know how much I like Ancient Greece. Part of the class focuses on history and Greece is included."

She smiled. "I'm glad you like it." And that was the end of the conversation—thankfully. I really like Karen and I'm horrible at keeping secrets from my friends. At least she didn't notice my half-truth.

Once everyone unloaded the bags, counselors were assigned and we split up to go to our cabins at the bottom of the hill. I was keeping a close eye out for monsters and, unfortunately, my counselor, Megan, noticed.

"You looking for someone?"

I shook my head. "This is my first time at camp. I don't know anyone here."

"Then what are you looking for?" Wow, she's persistent.

I thought fast. "I'm trying to memorize my way around. This place is so big. I don't want to get lost."

She nodded and let the subject drop. "Here's our cabin. You got lucky. I had a cabin on the other side of the creek last year."

I laughed. "Yeah, that'd be a long walk."

"You can claim any bunk. We have free time until dinner." She walked out to go get more campers.

I sat down on a back, bottom bunk and started getting my bedding out. _Hmm. Sleeping bag or sheets? Sheets. _I decided. Once I had my bed set up, Megan had come back with the rest of the cabin. Apparently, they all were on the same bus. I didn't know any of them, and they were too busy talking to realize they had another cabinmate, so I opened my book and waited for dinner.

That week was a lot of fun. It felt weird but nice being outside Camp Half-Blood. I had one week of escape from the war effort. I knew that the war wouldn't start until August, so a week of escape in June wouldn't matter. Although I kept a diligent eye all week, I only saw one monster, and I was in a position that made it easy to kill.

On Wednesday during the free time after dinner, I was over at the archery range. The Mist made my bow look like one of theirs, and nobody seemed to notice that my arrows disappeared after I appraised the shot. I was the only camper there and Megan, who was required to be there when anyone shot, was focused on her own practicing to my left. I was joyfully hitting bull's eye after bull's eye when I saw something out of the corner of my right eye. I turned quickly. Just off to the side of the practice area was a huge hellhound. It saw me at the same time I spotted it, and got ready to pounce. As it jumped, I fired and it disintegrated. I glanced at Megan. Either she wasn't paying attention or the Mist covered up the brief attack. She kept firing. I stayed a few more minutes, then told her I was done and left. I wanted to try one of those new crème sodas at Cool Beans.

"Hey, Andy. Ready to go?" It was Saturday and camp had just ended. He was doing a head count to make sure we had everyone.

"Where's Chris?" Chris was the other youth leader. "Ah, there he is. Come on, Chris! We're waiting on you!" Chris jogged over as we laughed at him.

"Sorry, guys. I was held up. Are we ready?"

"All ready," I told him. Everyone climbed into the van and we set off. I was again glad of my bag as I could hold everything on my lap. Desperately praying I could have a peaceful ride back to Tennessee, I got out my book.

The ride was mostly uneventful, though I had a narrow-escape-turned-blessing during lunch. Another stinking hellhound decided I would taste good. The bad part was that I heard someone come out of the restaurant just as I shot the thing. The hellhound turned to dust and I spun around, holding my bow behind my back. I would have dropped it, but if the "person" was another monster, I wanted to be prepared. Thankfully, it was just Andy.

I sighed with relief. "Oh, it's just you." I let go of my bow, sensing it disappear.

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay? You've been tense all week."

"I'm fine," I answered quickly, maybe too quickly.

He got a perplexed look on his face and waved me over towards the vans, out of earshot of the door. He looked like he wanted to tell me something, but wanted me to approach the subject first. I was hesitant. As much as I trusted Andy, I didn't want to put him in any danger because I needed to talk. I could talk it out with Annabeth back at camp. He looked at me as if he was reading me, then said something I never expected him to.

"Who's your godly parent?" After shocking people since I got claimed, it was my turn to drop my jaw. I grabbed my necklace, ready to turn invisible if he wasn't human.

"W-What are you talking about?" I stuttered.

"Grace, I'm not blind. I know a demigod when I see one." _Okay, so he knows about demigods, but he didn't saw he is one. That means he's either a monster or a clear sighted mortal._

"And how would you know?"

He laughed at me. "Grace, you can chill out. I'm not a monster. I've always been able to see more than what was good for me." _Clear-sighted mortal it is. _"So who's your parent?"

I relaxed a little, but still kept a hold on my necklace. "Daughter of Athena, blessed by Artemis."

"Does your mom or dad know?"

I shook my head. "Mom can't see through the Mist, and I haven't talked to Dad since I left for class."

"Speaking of class, how do you like it? Yes, I know the real name. I've been there many times."

"I love it, mostly. I got claimed my first day, but with _him _rising, I really needed this break."

The rest of the group came out and headed towards us. "I hope you enjoy it. And let me know if I can help at all, okay? I've got some friends." I nodded, and we joined the throng climbing in the van.

We made it back to the church at twenty until two. I climbed out, and waited for Andy to be alone. Once he was, I walked up and voiced my thoughts.

"Andy?" He turned to me.

"Yeah?"

"Do your friends know how to fight? We could use all the help we can get in this war."

He smirked. "Yes, they know how to fight fairly well. When and where's the war?"

"It'll be in Manhattan. I'm pretty sure Percy will set us up around Olympus. We only have around forty campers and the Hunters haven't been heard from in months. Do you think you would be able to gather your friends up and get them to Manhattan on short notice? We don't know when it'll start, but we suspect around August eighteenth."

He nodded. "You still coming on the Ohio trip August third?" I nodded. "Then I'll message everyone to prepare. You can update me then and IM when it starts." I nodded an okay, gave him a hug, and started up the hill. Looking back from the top, I saw Andy standing where I left him. He was staring at me. I waved and walked out of sight.

**Thank you ThatApolloGirl for reviewing. Your review brightened my day and because I'm still happy from that, I've decided to update. I have this story written through ~chapter 40, so more reviews equals faster updates, no matter my schedule!**

**ThatApolloGirl: Thanks for the tip! In my future writings I'll try to add more detail, though you might not see that for a few chapters.**


	7. Chapter 7

Five minutes after I reached the meeting place for my ride, Jellybean showed up.

"Right on time," I told her. I climbed on and we headed back to camp.

I fell asleep a few minutes into the ride and, after what seemed like a few minutes later, she nudged me awake. I looked down and saw that we were circling camp.

"Set me down on the beach, would you please?"

She neighed and landed, cantering to a stop. I jumped off and she galloped to the stables, probably to get some food. I wandered down the beach. I didn't really want to go to my cabin, and I didn't have a class to show up at, since it was Saturday. I had walked for several minutes before I noticed someone in the distance. As I got closer, I recognized curly blonde hair. Annabeth turned at the sound of my footsteps.

"Grace! You're back! You left without saying goodbye, and your note said nothing! Where were you? Aaron said you mentioned some kind of camp?"

"I went to church camp. I didn't say goodbye because I was afraid you would try to stop me." I sat down next to her. "I knew that if I didn't go to church camp, there would be some major red flags going up, and I didn't want a man-hunt like Percy went through." I purposefully left out the news of more fighters. I didn't know if he would follow through, and if he did I wanted that to be a surprise. "And I needed a getaway from this war preparation to align my thoughts. Once I found out that I am a demigod, I haven't had time to breathe. I needed a break."

She thought about that and, after a few minutes, got up. "Want to go tell Chiron and the cabin you're back?" she asked.

"Sure, why not." We walked into camp. Immediately, I was swarmed by cabinmates. I couldn't make out anything they were saying. The racket drew Chiron to the scene.

"What is going on?!" he called. Everyone immediately shut up. Chiron never raised his voice. Everyone shuffled around to give him a clear view of me. "Grace. It's nice to see you back." _Wow. No where did you go or you shouldn't have left? _"Everyone, I'm sure Grace is tired and would like to get to her cabin. You can ask her questions later." The crowd around me dispersed, leaving only Annabeth, Chiron, and I. "Grace, I must say you're better than Percy. You left a note saying when you would come back _and _you stuck to it. Welcome back, Grace. Now go take a nap. You look like you're about to collapse." He cantered off and Annabeth and I left for our cabin. Reclaiming my bed in the back, I put my sheets on, my curtain up, and climbed in.

"Wake me in time for dinner?"

"Sure, Grace. 'Goodnight.'" I chuckled and lay down. I was out before I hit the pillow. The Wilds is a blast, but it tires me out worse than battle training.

Annabeth woke me up two hours later.

"Come on, Grace. You said you wanted dinner. The horn's about to blow."

"Huh? Oh. I'm up." I stretched and wiped the sleep from my eyes, then stood up and got in line. A second later, the conch blew and we filed up to the pavilion.

That night as I went (back) to sleep, I thought about everything we would be doing this summer, and wondered if I would survive the war in August.

The next two months sped by. The entire camp went on mission after mission, preparing for the war. I escaped for two days August third and fourth to go on the Ohio trip with my church. While there, I told Andy that we still had no news and he told me that his "friends," whoever they were, would be ready.

August twelfth, the war began. Annabeth told me Percy and Beckendorf left to blow up the _Princess Andromeda_ and they should be back any time. I wandered around, undecided as to what I wanted to do. Eventually, I went to the deserted arena and practiced changing my sword and turning invisible. The whole camp stayed up later than usual, waiting for them, but eventually, Chiron ordered us to bed.

I slept restlessly. My dreams were full of exploding ships and different views of an underwater palace. I woke early the next morning and, instead of trying to go back to sleep, I got up and went for a walk.

I ended up behind the dining pavilion when the horn blew. Percy and Beckendorf were back! Then I saw a lone figure walking from the beach. When the figure got closer, I recognized Percy. I looked at his drooping gait, the lines etched into his face, and I knew. Beckendorf was gone. I could feel myself paling, my grief showing through, so I quickly rubbed my cross, turning invisible. I crept closer to the pavilion, reaching the nearest column as Chiron galloped up, Annabeth running right behind.

"Percy!" Chiron said in relief. "Thank the gods. But where…"

Annabeth grabbed Percy's arm. "What happened? Is Luke—"

"The ship blew up," Percy said. "I don't know where—"

Silena shoved her way through the crowd. "Where's Charlie?" She looked around.

Chiron hesitated, grief on every inch of his face. "Silena, my dear, let's talk about this at the Big House—"

Silena started muttering, then crying.

I remembered Beckendorf the first time I saw him, the day he offered to make my weapon. I remembered him kissing Silena, making sure she was okay with him going back to work. I remembered his joy at seeing that the new camper had a weapon that fit her. I remembered his kindness. And I remembered how his presence could calm the angriest of campers. I realized that he was more than a nice guy, he was the anchor for the camp. He was everyone's friend, even those who didn't know him well, like me. I remembered Beckendorf, and I grieved. I knew we would have to move on. This wasn't the first casualty, and we had to win this war, but I still gave the lost camper a moment.

With tears running down my cheeks, I tuned back in to the conversation. Everyone but Annabeth and Chiron had wandered off and Percy was describing what happened.

He obviously didn't want to go through it again, but Percy told what happened on the ship, that we had a spy, and how he had woken up in his dad's palace. I figured that's what I had seen in my dreams. He also mentioned another threat and his prophecy. I had overheard Annabeth talking to herself about some Great Prophecy and I figured that's what he meant. He said he had to hear it.

Chiron's shoulders sagged, but he agreed. "Let's go to the attic."

**Hello, my readers! I was planning on waiting til tomorrow to update, but I got a couple reviews that made me smile, telling me to update. So you get a chapter today, and maybe one tomorrow too (if I get a few reviews), to celebrate Independence Day for the U.S.**

**These upcoming chapters cover the Last Olympian, and I will hit, but skip over what is covered in the book. You will know what is happening, but I will not type out everything. I will focus more on my own parts of the story, as I added my own point of view to what really happened. I simply want to make that clear so that I won't get readers mad about me not typing out pieces that were already written. Rick already wrote those parts, there is no need for me to type them again.**

**Anyway, now that that's out there, I want to say that I'm overjoyed that so many are enjoying my story! Every review I get makes me smile, and I hope you continue to read, enjoy, and review!**


	8. Chapter 8

I followed them to the Big House, but waited for Percy and Annabeth to come down from the attic. I knew that's where the Oracle was kept, and I had no motivation to go up there. After a few minutes, they came back down and went straight to the game room. Being my nosy self, I followed. I wanted to hear this prophecy. We entered in the middle of a shouting match between Clarisse and Michael. They were still fighting about that stupid chariot we got a week ago. Then Clarisse stormed out, leaving her knife behind and resolving not to talk to anyone. Whatever. Clarisse was a stubborn eliphmos. End of story.

Finally, we got to the prophecy. Percy took out the paper, and, after a false start thanks to his dyslexia and hesitation on certain lines, read the prophecy to the council, and me.

_A half-blood of the eldest gods_

_Shall reach sixteen against all odds_

_And see the world in endless sleep,_

_The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap._

_A single choice shall end his days._

_Olympus to preserve or raze._

Everyone sat in stunned silence after that. I had a multitude of thoughts running through my head. It sounded like Percy was going to die, but maybe it could mean someone else? Someone else could be the hero, right? I was grasping at straws. I didn't want Percy to die. I knew him better than many, since I read the books, but I also knew how Annabeth would take it. She'd be crushed. I zoned out, trying to think of another way it might happen.

I tuned back in and listened to them argue about the spy, and Chiron explain that Typhon had been released and was making his way here. When Chiron dismissed everyone, I was the first person out, running to the cabin and climbing into bed in the dark before turning visible again. I lay there, pretending to be asleep as Annabeth came in. I never went to bed early, and I was afraid she would question me, but I didn't want to talk. I knew that if she saw my face, she'd know I'd listened in. A few minutes later, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning after breakfast, I was standing close to the volleyball court when I saw Percy and Annabeth fighting. They had a quick exchange, ending in Annabeth getting in Percy's face then storming off. Percy wandered the other way and I went to the arena. Maybe I could find someone to spar with.

That afternoon was Beckendorf's shroud burning. Afterwards, I knew I should go to the climbing wall, my next activity, but I couldn't focus. I went back to the cabin and shut myself in the Athena library, burying my thoughts in books for the rest of the day.

By morning, Annabeth was frantic. Percy hadn't been seen since right after their fight and she was blaming herself. I told her to calm down and check her phone. Maybe he called. She ran to her bag and dug out her phone. After going through several mundane messages, she found his. _Meet me at the Empire State Building. It's time to start the war _was all it said. With a plan of action, Annabeth leaped to work. Telling Chiron Percy's message, she started gathering everyone up to get in the camp vans. In the bustle before we left, I slipped off to the side and found a rainbow.

Tossing a drachma in, I said, "Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Andy Smith, Tennessee." The mist shimmered and my youth leader stood in front of me.

He took one look at me, noticing I had full armor, and said "Time?"

I nodded. "We're headed to Manhattan in a few minutes. We will gather beneath Olympus. Percy will probably focus our forces on the southern part of the island. I need you to go to the northern part, like around Harlem. We don't have many warriors. We need everyone we can get. You still in?"

"Of course. I'll send out the word and we'll get there as soon as we can."

I nodded and, hearing Annabeth loading everyone up, told him I had to go. We exchanged goodbyes and I broke the connection. I turned and ran to my cabin, grabbed all the nectar, ambrosia, and gear I could find, stuffed in my bag, and lit out for the van. We headed into town.

Once there, we unloaded, and Percy told everyone that we had to get an audience with Zeus. Going up in two groups, we walked through Olympus. As my first time physically there, I was staring at everything. The descriptions I read just didn't cut it. It probably would've been even cooler if we weren't in the middle of a war.

We arrived in the throne room, where Percy almost collapsed and Hermes appeared. Percy told the rest of us to go do a sweep to see who was left. I wanted to hear their conversation with Hermes, but decided to do as I was told for once. Connor and Travis led everyone out and we split up. Being a little new still, I didn't know what I was looking for, so I just started exploring. I ended up in a small park overlooking Manhattan. It was quiet, stereotypically too quiet. Something was wrong.

I didn't know much about big cities, being from a tiny little town, but I knew a metropolis this size should be really loud. I should have been able to hear the noise up here, but I didn't. Everything was silent. I found a telescope and deposited a quarter, since I couldn't find a drachma, and looked through at the city. Everyone was curled up on the sidewalk. A few minutes later, Percy, Annabeth, and everyone else had caught up to me, and all the telescopes were being used. I heard Percy yell something about his city, but I wasn't paying attention. A line of the prophecy rang in my head: _And see the world in endless sleep_ and my thoughts raced. The invasion had begun.

**Wow. my last chapter must have been horrible. I didn't get any reviews. I got some views, so I know it was seen. Was it a bad chapter or the holiday? Either way, please review this time, even if it's to (respectfully, no one likes flames) say you don't like it. If I get reviews, I update faster!**


	9. Chapter 9

We found Argus waiting for us by the vans, and I could tell he was freaking out. Percy told him to go back to camp with the harpies and protect it. Argus handed Annabeth the video shield and the vans pealed out, headed to camp. Percy and Annabeth explored the video shield, but I didn't pay much attention. I was thinking about Andy and trying to figure out how long it'll take for them to get here. I started listening again when Percy began handing out jobs.

Apollo cabin got the Williamsburg Bridge, Demeter Brooklyn-Battery tunnel. Half of Hermes covered the Manhattan Bridge, while the other half took Brooklyn Bridge. The Aphrodite kids got Queens-Midtown Tunnel, which they loved. Apparently, some perfume shops are on the way. Whatever works. Anyway, Hephaestus took Holland Tunnel, and Athena got 59th Street Bridge. I made note of that, but when Annabeth said she was going with Percy, I couldn't resist.

"No detours, you too," I called. Percy let it slide, but I got some chuckles from other people.

Percy told us to call him by borrowing a cell for one call. Then Jake from Hephaestus mentioned Lincoln Tunnel. Before Percy could answer, we heard a voice from across the street.

A bunch of girls in silver walked up. Their leader, Thalia, called out that they would take Lincoln Tunnel. After greetings, chitchat, and some kind of deal involving Le Parker Meridien were exchanged, the Hunters moved out. I made a split second decision and followed. I wanted to get to know Thalia better. How else than fighting next to her? I rubbed my cross and raced after them. As I caught up, I heard the battle cry. "FOR OLYMPUS!" resounded off the buildings and we raced north.

I caught up to Thalia, summoned my bow, and turned visible. Thalia about jumped out of her skin.

"Where did you come from? And who are you?"

"Grace, daughter of Athena, blessed by Artemis. Annabeth isn't the only one Athena gave a birthday present to."

She studied me as we ran. "Blessed by Artemis? I guess that's why you have a Hunter's bow and bag. Why are you here and not with your cabin?"

"I wanted to fight with the Hunters of Artemis and I figured you would let me since Artemis blessed me. Also, the Athena cabin will be fine minus one camper. They don't know half of what I can do, so they probably think me a burden. It's easier to disappear so they aren't trying to keep track of me."

She laughed and told me, "Well spoken. Let's see how you do." She raised her voice so all could hear. "Sisters! This is Grace, daughter of Athena, blessed by Artemis. She is part of our group for now." The others waved, and we reached the Lincoln Tunnel. The place was already overrun with monsters.

We rushed into battle. I saw a Hunter growing various plants to block the tunnel. I fired arrow after arrow. Firing one into a monster next to me, I quickly turned around and rammed another arrow into a dracaena by hand. Both monsters dissolved and I continued fighting. I whipped out my sword and took down a few hellhounds, then activated my shield in time to block a sword aimed at my neck. With one quick swipe, that snake disintegrated. I saw Thalia surrounded by several giants. Morphing my sword to a pistol, I shot several of them down. She looked around, surprised. When she spotted me, I nodded, then shot a few more monsters before changing my weapon back to a sword.

In the course of a few minutes, I had traveled several hundred feet fighting. I had to jump in wherever I saw an opening. I had multiple cuts and bruises, but no serious injuries yet. Now at a diagonal to the tunnel, I found a quiet corner, put my back against a large tree, and surveyed the scene.

Thalia and her second, Phoebe, were battling back-to-back against several giants. Another group of hunters was fighting a legion of dracaena. A saw a hellhound grab a younger Hunter and run off. I didn't look to see what happened to her.

I was trying to find where they needed my help to most when I heard a scream. There! A blonde Hunter was down, and a hellhound was close enough to pounce. I raised my weapon, now a rifle, and fired. The hellhound yelped and melted to shadow. I ran to the girl, who was trying to sit up. I grabbed a piece of ambrosia out of my bag.

"Chew on this." I gave her the piece and dragged her to a tree away from the battle. "Is it serious?" I asked her. She shook her head. "Then stay here until you can stand." I ran off. Thalia and Phoebe were about to be overrun. Changing to a pistol, which was slightly easier to aim, I rubbed my necklace and turned invisible. Sneaking up behind the battalion around Thalia, Phoebe, and some other girls, I fired several times, taking all but one or two down before I had to dive out of the way of a club. Rubbing my cross again on the way down, I glanced back to make sure no one was injured. Phoebe took out the last monster in that battalion, and glanced at me. I raised my weapon in salute, and ran to continue fighting.

We fought through the night, until the monsters retreated at sunrise. I heard Thalia speaking as I shot down as many retreating monsters as I could. Firing off one more shot, I followed her voice.

I found her speaking into a cell phone beside a conked out mortal. She had called in to get and give an update.

"Yes, they retreated at dawn…We only lost a few. One of your campers saved Phoebe and me a couple times…Where are you?...She what?!...The Plaza? I'll be there in a few." Thalia hung up and dropped the phone. I stepped into her line of sight.

"Who's hurt?" I knew she would react that way to Percy, Annabeth, or Nico getting hurt.

"That was Jake. It's Annabeth. Poisoned knife to the shoulder. I better get over there."

"I'm coming with you." She nodded distractedly and called the Hunters over.

"Headquarters for now is The Plaza. Gather up the injured and let's get moving."

My adrenaline was fading fast. As the last of it went, I suddenly got dizzy and my leg exploded in pain. Looking down, I saw a huge gash. Who knows how long I had had it. I propped myself against a tree before my knees buckled and took out a small piece of ambrosia. I hadn't gotten hurt before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It tasted like the brownie batter that I used to make with a friend. Yum. I felt the cut on my leg heal, and I suddenly could walk without too much pain. The dizziness subsided.

The detail sent out to gather the injured came back, and we got moving. After five minutes of walking, I thought _the heck with this_. I went over to the nearest van. The keys were still inside.

"Come on everyone. Thalia, if you can drive from New Mexico to the Grand Canyon, you can handle sleepy New York streets."

We pushed the driver out and laid him on the ground, then everyone climbed in. Thalia drove, Phoebe took shotgun, I climbed into the first bench, and everyone else filled in behind me. As we set off, Thalia asked the question I knew was coming.

"How did you know about that drive?"

I reached into my bag and drew out the corresponding book. "Thank your senior scribe. I've read all of Percy's adventures. I wouldn't be surprised if Rick publishes this battle in a few months."

She just shook her head and kept driving.

Driving through empty streets made the ride short. A few minutes later, we pulled up in front of The Plaza. I was in such a hurry to get in, I didn't pay much attention to my surroundings. I just knew they were lush. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw glass chandeliers, thick carpet, and gold leaf mirrors. Racing upstairs with Thalia, we found Grover giving Percy a report. Thalia went immediately to check on Annabeth. I peeked in, but didn't let Annabeth know I was there. She was awake and talking to Thalia a little. Going back to where Grover and Percy were, I waited until they stopped talking and Percy left before I went up to Grover.

"Hey Grover. Have you seen mortals up north? Around Harlem?"

He shook his head. "We don't have people up there, and all the residents are still asleep."

I hadn't thought about my reinforcements succumbing to the spell, but if they're all clear-sighted or demigods—I just hoped they could get through. We needed anyone we could get.

I nodded my thanks and went to find a bunk to crash in. I'd worry about my friends later. Now I needed to recharge for tonight.

When I woke, the sun was on the other side of the sky, telling me I'd slept until a couple hours before sunset—the expected time of the next attack. Percy was telling everyone about setting up around the reservoir while smaller bands each took a tunnel.

**Thank you guest. I was waiting to see if anyone was interested in my story anymore. You have showed me that at least one is. I will step up my updates :)  
To everyone else, I have not updated in so long b/c I wanted to see if anyone was interested. Since someone still is, I will begin to update faster. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll be back w/ a new one in a couple days!**


	10. Chapter 10

We gathered at the main battlefield.

**I've decided that unless I get one review each chapter, every 3 or 4 chapters I go w/o a review i will wait however long it takes to get a review to update. I have had almost 200 views on this story and only 11 reviews. I love that so many people are reading, but I want to know what you think! And w/ so many reading, it should be easy for 1 of my awesome readers to review! Please? Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Has each cabin chosen a bridge or a tunnel?" The Athena cabin was stationed at the reservoir, but I was planning to sneak off again to go help up north.

The counselors nodded.

"Then let's do it," he told us. "Good hunting, everybody!"

We split up. My cabinmates went to the tents to wait for the enemy to show up. I made sure no one was watching me, turned invisible, and crept north. Once out of sight of the camp, I turned visible again and started running. I knew I needed to hurry, and I wasn't near fast enough. Eventually, I came across someone curled up beside a small scooter. Perfect. Making sure the driver wouldn't get run over, I hopped on, figured out how to start it, and sped north.

After almost wrecking a couple (hundred) times, I finally started to get the hang of it. It still took me a while, but riding the scooter was definitely faster than walking. However, I still arrived to a battle scene. Jumping off before the bike was even stopped, I ran to help.

A large group of people I knew fought alongside the satyrs and nymphs stationed up here. I found Andy fighting a Hyperborean with a sword I had never seen before. I rubbed my necklace and surprised the monster by sticking a sword through its back. It turned to popsicles and melted as I became visible again. The shock on Andy's face was priceless.

"Wha? How did you—"

I shushed him. "Fight now. Talk later."

He nodded and we rejoined the battle.

I was stunned, amazed at how many people that I knew could see through the Mist. I helped Andy and Chris kill a few dracaena, found the pastor's kids wielding their own swords against some hellhounds, and recognized many people from my church fighting a legion of telkhines. How could so many people from the same area be clear-sighted? That was something to debate later. Right now, I needed to fight.

When faced with the danger of losing people I love, I have no mercy. I was a whirlwind on that battlefield. Utilizing every weapon I had, we fought the legion all night. I shot some monsters with my pistol, then switched to a sword to kill that one behind me. Taking out my bow, I shot several of the telkhines surrounding some people from church, giving them room to take out the rest. I found Andrew, a college student from church, trying to take on two Hyperboreans by himself. It looked like they almost had him, so I shot one as he got a lucky swing at the other. We fought all night, somehow even staying in the same area, to keep our position. Finally, sunrise came and the enemy retreated for the day.

I started searching for Andy and the scooter I had arrived on. I needed to get back to base, but I couldn't leave without saying goodbye. I found Andy standing next to my bike. I gave him a hug.

"You made it through the night," I said in relief. "And Olympus must have too. Have we lost anyone?"

"None. All the monsters fight with the celestial bronze. We all have celestial bronze to fight them with, but since we're all mortals, their weapons can't hurt us. We had a few injured when a giant threw them, but being mortal has thrown all the monsters for a loop. They can't figure out how to react."

"Good. Let's keep it that way." I faked a brave face and hoped he bought it. "I need to go back to base camp. I sneaked out. Athena cabin was supposed to be the main reservoir, but I thought you would need help here. You haven't told my mom anything have you?" He shook his head. "Good. She can't see through the Mist and I want to keep it that way for as long as possible." I looked at him hard, desperately hoping he and everyone else would survive the battle. "I need to go. I'll find you after we win." I gave him one more hard hug, waved to Chris and the others, and hopped on my bike. I sped south, trying to ignore the wreckage from the battles.

I reached southern Manhattan in a few minutes, and I started to wonder if we _had_ lost. Nobody was at the reservoir and the same with The Plaza. I headed to Olympus. Thankfully, base had been moved there. I parked my bike and went to get an update.

I found Percy staring at an out-of-control helicopter, worry and shock on his face. I was about to ask what was wrong when I caught a glimpse of the people inside. Annabeth and Rachel were in the front, and it looked like Annabeth was fighting to control the copter. I wondered why Rachel was here. Maybe she came to fight? But she didn't have any fighting experience, her trip to the Labyrinth made that clear. I went back to watching the copter, hoping they wouldn't crash. Just as it was about to hit a building, the bird righted, then hovered slowly down. Annabeth had gotten it under control. They landed and climbed out.

Staying back, I watched as Annabeth asked Rachel something, got a reply, and stormed off. I can't believe how jealous she is. I debated running after Annabeth, but decided to wait a minute. I wanted to listen in on Percy's conversation with Chiron. Percy didn't look injured, but that couldn't be possible, unless…No he couldn't have.

I got within earshot in time to hear Chiron tell Percy to get some sleep.

"You think I can sleep after what just happened?" he asked. Well, I knew I could. That'd be my next stop.

Chiron replied, "You may be invulnerable in combat, but that only makes your body tire faster. I remember Achilles…"

So he did. Percy actually bathed in the Styx and survived. He was out of his mind. But it seems it worked. I left to go find Annabeth, hoping if I went little-sister on her, she might calm down a little. I found her in the Empire State Building lobby.

"Annabeth!" I gave her a hug, avoiding her shoulder, then went rapid-fire, trying to get her laughing. "How did you manage to fly that helicopter? Are you okay? What did—" It worked. Annabeth laughed

"Slow down, Grace! Daedalus had some notes on invention and my dad's really into aviation. And yes, I'm fine. Now where have you been? After the battle at the reservoir, I looked for you but you were gone! I thought you were dead!" Time for her to crush me.

"When I went to church camp, I found out my youth pastor can see through the Mist. He said he had some friends that could help in the war and asked me to message him when the war started. After we got Percy's message, I IMed Andy and told him we would need help up north. I went up there to help and to make sure they were okay."

"And were they?"

"Surprisingly, yes. He and all his friends, most of which I knew, are clear-sighted mortals that got ahold of celestial bronze weapons. They can kill the monsters, but the monster's weapons don't hurt them. We've only had a few injuries from being thrown against a tree. Nobody has died."

"Glad to hear, Grace. Now you look exhausted. Go find a bunk. I'm not far behind you." I nodded, grabbed a little food, and crashed on the nearest bunk.

I woke to a loud roar. I ran into the next room in time to hear Percy say, "They're coming. And we're in trouble."

Rushing outside, I saw a shadow blot out the sun. The drakon—I recognized it from my mythology study—climbed down the skyscraper and let out another roar that shattered the windows. Percy yelled something and charged the drakon with Annabeth. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rachel retreat inside the building, looking pale. Knowing the drakon could paralyze you with its eyes, I looked away and focused on the legion of dracaena in front of me. We charged.

I had my bow out in a second and took out several dracaena. At one point, I got lucky and took out two with one arrow. Cool. Anyway, I eventually got tired of firing arrows, and summoned my sword. Fighting two-handed, I took out a Hyperborean with someone else's help, then turned to take out an enemy hellhound that had shadow-travelled behind me. Summoning my shield, I blocked the knife swinging toward my head then sliced its wielder—a telkhine. I morphed my sword to a pistol, and shot much of a legion of dracaena down. We had made a dent in the army, but we were wearing down. I was starting to wonder when we should retreat to cover the doors at all cost when I heard the chariot wheels.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the Ares cabin riding to battle. Dodging to avoid the giant swinging his club at me, I shot him down and turned invisible. I was sick of monsters aiming for me and I wanted to see what happened. I got into a routine of shooting an unsuspecting monster, then turn and watch a minute, then shooting another. I watched as Clarisse led her cabin into battle and started fighting the drakon. The army was thrown into confusion, and I shot a few more monsters.

Then things went wrong. I watched as Ares campers were swallowed, then the drakon shot poison into Clarisse's face. She screamed as she fell.

"Clarisse!" Annabeth screamed as she ran over. I stepped further out of the battle so I could see better. I continued to take out monsters, but my focus was on the circle around Clarisse. Then another chariot landed and someone got out. I recognized Chris, then the other figure clicked. Clarisse yelled something lost in the battle and ran to the fallen girl in her armor. I couldn't tell who the girl on the ground was, now that I knew it wasn't Clarisse. I stepped closer, becoming an invisible part of the group.

Clarisse looked at the drakon with pure hatred on her face. She screamed something—I didn't pay attention. I was too focused on the fallen girl—and ran at the drakon with her electric spear in hand. With a mighty leap, she landed on top of the creature's head and drove her spear into its eye socket. The force broke the weapon, releasing all its power. Clarisse jumped free and ran back to our circle as electricity arced off the monster. She didn't seem to care that she had just taken down a drakon by herself. She focused on the girl in the middle of our circle.

Annabeth finally got the fallen camper's helmet off, and I gasped. Oblivious to the battle surrounding me, I stared at the girl in front of me. Silena Beauregard had led the Ares campers into battle.


	11. Chapter 11

I was too much in shock to register the conversation. Too many facts were falling into place. I vaguely heard Silena claim Beckendorf's death was her fault, and I knew. I knew why she had cried at the mention of the spy in the war counsel. I knew why she expected him to be there when Percy came back from the mission so long ago. I stared at the scythe charm in Silena's hand, and hoped that her last act of heroism would get her into Elysium. I still wasn't quite sure how the afterlife worked since both Almighty God and the Greek gods existed, but I hoped that her obvious repentance would get her into Heaven.

Refocusing on Silena, her eyes were a thousand miles away. "Charlie. See Charlie…" She didn't move again.

Clarisse bowed her head and wept. I wanted to, but I wouldn't allow myself the relief. We had to fight for Silena. We had to honor her. I would take the time to mourn after this battle was won.

When Clarisse said Silena was a hero, I agreed. She had made a big mistake, but she sacrificed her life to set things right. She was incredibly brave, and I hoped that I would have that bravery. We rejoined the battle.

My grief made me a better fighter, so it makes sense that, since Clarisse knew Silena better that I, she would have more grief, and therefore be a better fighter. It certainly looked like it. Clarisse was a demon on that battlefield.

She looped a rope through the drakon's eye sockets and attached it to her chariot, then drove around Fifth Avenue, challenging Kronos. A red aura flickered around her, which had to be the blessing of Ares.

The enemy slowly withdrew behind a shield wall and we went into the Empire State Building to tend the wounded. I heard Chris say he would try to get Clarisse inside, and Thalia volunteer the Hunters to stand guard, telling Annabeth and Percy to set up the final defense on Olympus, but I walked past, heading to the makeshift infirmary.

I went around trying to help with the wounded, doing anything to mask my grief. I didn't have time to deal with it. Eventually, I rebuilt my mask and did my job.

Considering Kronos's pattern of fighting at night, I knew we had a few hours until the next attack. After helping treat the wounded, I hit the bed for a few hours' sleep.

When I woke, a nearby camper told me it was a few minutes to sunset and that Percy was still on Olympus. Signaling that I heard him, I grabbed some food to wolf down—I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten—and readied my weapons.

It wasn't long before the enemy appeared. We saw Kronos standing in a chariot pulled by two Hyperboreans leading a moderately large army. We sounded the alarm and went to battle. Completely exhausted, it didn't take long for us to get cornered. We'd fallen back to the doors and Kronos's army was less than twenty feet away. Clarisse had lost a fight with a Hyperborean and was now a block of ice. All the centaurs aside from Chiron had disappeared a long time ago, and Chiron was blocking Kronos from entering the lobby. Percy chose that moment to rush out of Olympus.

The second Percy came outside he froze. He appeared to be struggling to move. Kronos and his time powers. Kronos and Chiron had a short exchange that I couldn't hear, ending when Chiron struck. Kronos blocked and sent Chiron's blade flying.

"_BACK!" _Kronos yelled. A light exploded between the Titan and centaur, throwing Chiron into a wall, which collapsed on top of him. Our teacher was buried under a pile of bricks.

Annabeth ran to Chiron, then turned on Luke. She said something and drew her knife. Percy tried to stop her, but she shook him off and attacked Kronos.

She stabbed downward into Luke's chest. The blade should have sunk in close to his heart. Instead, it bounced off and Annabeth doubled over, clutching her bad shoulder. As Kronos swung at her, Percy pulled her out of the way and Kronos readied his scythe to swing again. But before he could, a howl pierced the air.

"_Aroooooooo!" _Mrs. O'Leary was nearby.

Percy called to his pet and the enemy parted like the Red Sea. Standing at the end of the block was the world's only friendly hellhound and Nico. I sneaked closer, tired of not being able to hear what people were saying.

Nico strolled through the gap in the army while Mrs. O'Leary bounded to Percy with a happy bark.

"I got your message. Is it too late to join the party?"

"Son of Hades," Kronos spat. "Do you love death so much you wish to experience it?"

"Your death," Nico replied, "would be great for me."

"I'm immortal, you fool! I have escaped Tartarus. You have no business here, and no chance to live."

Nico drew his three-foot Stygian iron sword. "I don't agree."

Cracks opened in the ground, and thousands of skeletal warriors climbed their way to the land of the living. The enemy started looking jumpy, but Kronos yelled, "HOLD YOUR GROUND! The dead are no match for us."

Then the sky darkened and the temperature dropped. The shadows thickened as a war horn sounded. An enormous chariot inlaid with obsidian and gold drawn by horses of living shadow roared down the street, stopping next to Nico. Hades, Persephone, and Demeter joined the party.

Hades and Kronos had a relatively short exchange on how terrible a father Kronos was. Finally, Hades told Kronos to fight him. "For today the House of Hades will be called the saviors of Olympus."

"I don't have time for this," Kronos sneered and struck the ground with his scythe.

A crack spread in both directions, encircling the Empire State Building. A wall of power shimmered along the crack, trapping Kronos, his vanguard, Percy, Annabeth, and a handful of others apart from the rest of the armies. Kronos had collapsed the magic barriers around the island, cutting off just Olympus and those close to it. I was trapped outside, but I could still hear what was said inside.

People outside started waking up, and chaos ensued. Most of them ran away, but two ran towards us. Sally understood immediately what was going on and ran toward us, Paul on her heels.

Hades chose that moment to test the wall. Even after blasting it with black energy, the barrier held.

"ATTACK!" Hades roared, and the two armies clashed in a sea of metal.

I battled my way toward Sally and Paul. Paul picked up a sword and disintegrated a dracaena while Sally used a shotgun to blow a Laistrygonian onto Nico's sword. Percy seemed stunned that his parents were fighting so well, but his mother told him to quit worrying and go stop Kronos. He and Annabeth raced toward the building while I reached Sally and Paul.

"Nico! Come help!" He ran over. "Help me guard Percy's parents." He nodded and the four of us formed a circle, Nico and I placing ourselves on either side of Paul, making the order around the circle Sally, me, Paul, Nico. Working as a group, we protected each other and fought whatever came our way. Sally had picked up a sword from a fallen enemy half-blood, and did a fairly good job battling an empousa. One touch with the celestial bronze sword and the monster disintegrated.

But no matter how many we killed, more took their place. Hades summoned wave after wave of undead. Nico, Sally, Paul, and I were ringed in enemies, and more kept coming.

_A single choice…Olympus to preserve or raze_. I knew it was August 18th, Percy's birthday. Today, the prophecy would be fulfilled. Today we would either save Olympus and the world or destroy it.

**Hey, everyone. Sorry this took so long. College caught up to me. I promise I'll try to be faster next time! Hope you enjoyed it.**


	12. Chapter 12

Typhon was close enough I could see him from the battlefield. I estimated he was over the river.

Suddenly, the air was filled with a bellow so loud I knew if I had been at the source, I would have lost my hearing.

"NOW MY BRETHREN! STRIKE FOR OLYMPUS!"

I couldn't tell who it was, only that they weren't here. The voice was coming from the storm column to the west, so I figured it was one of the gods. As we fought, I kept glancing over, trying to decipher what was happening. A few minutes after the initial battle cry, I heard another bellow—from a monster. I glanced over in time to see the storm giant sink lower and lower until he disappeared. The gods had defeated Typhon and were on their way. We might actually win this. I found hope and new strength.

Hearing something fall, I stabbed the hellhound Sally was battling and turned to look. Oh, no. Percy doesn't have his weapon. A second later, the sword disappeared; hopefully back to Percy, but something told me it didn't go straight to him. That he was still weaponless. I kept battling, shooting down monsters left and right.

Then, without warning, an aura of energy exploded from Olympus. When the force reached the ground, every monster disintegrated and the enemy half-bloods ran. Those of us standing released tired grins. We won! Kronos was defeated and Olympus was safe!

A few minutes of cheering and sighs of relief later, the Empire State Building lit up blue, and Sally relaxed completely.

"Percy survived!"

I smiled, hugged her, and went to find my friends. The force field had dissolved when the monsters did, and I got onto the elevator. I was hoping the I could go to Olympus, because I wanted to make sure Annabeth was okay and, I'll admit, I was curious as to Percy's reward for saving Olympus.

When I reached the top, I had to wait a few minutes on the first step to avoid falling from Olympus. With the bridge reformed, I searched for Annabeth. Not finding her, I went invisibly to the throne room to watch Zeus' speech, hoping to see the key people get their rewards.

Sometime in the middle, Annabeth showed up and, finally, Zeus got to rewarding the heroes. Thalia was promised help filling the Hunter's ranks and received a compliment from Artemis. Artemis even got Hades to promise those Hunters who died would go to Elysium. I almost started debating the afterlife again, but stopped my ADHD from taking that road. I didn't want to miss anything. Tyson was made a general in the Cyclopes army and promised a new club. Grover was made a member of the Council of Cloven Elders and a lord of the Wild, and fainted from the news. Annabeth was speechless for the first time when Athena made her architect of Olympus. Then Poseidon announced Percy Jackson.

The room quieted to the point you could hear a pin drop. Percy seemed stunned when he was offered a gift from the gods, but I was astonished when he turned down the immortality. I guess Seaweed Brain had a few brain cells after all, because instead of focusing on himself, he focused on others. He made the gods promise to properly recognize all their children. At first, I thought Zeus was going to blast him for telling them what to do, but, surprisingly, Athena saved Percy.

"I move we accept the boys plan."

Zeus harrumphed, but Hermes called out, "All in favor." Every god raised his or her hand.

Percy thanked them uncertainly and turned to leave. Poseidon called for an honor guard, and Cyclopes stood at attention, forming an aisle to the door.

After Percy and Annabeth left, I turned and saw two goddesses waiting for me.

"Grace, I know you're there, and I'm not mad. You can turn visible," Athena told me.

I was nervous that she wouldn't like me listening in, but I turned visible and bowed my head, waiting.

"Calm down, Grace. I just want to clear up a few things. I know you are still confused about how we exist under Almighty God, and how I am your parent, so I am going to try to clear it up." I waited for her to continue, still nervous. "You were close in your estimation that the Greeks created us. As with Camelot, we exist only because some believe in us. We are the product of human minds and God's omnipotence. In Ancient Greece, the people knew there was a higher power they needed to worship, but the Bible hadn't gotten to them yet. They, instead, created their own gods, us, and mentally gave those gods powers. Because of men's imagination and God giving the Greeks what they wanted, like He did in Kings, we became what we are. We are not the rulers of this world. We are better thought of as stewards, and exist only to those who believe, whereas God—capital G—exists to everyone whether they believe in Him or not. Our legend continues because people like you and Percy and Annabeth still believe and still fight for us. Does that make sense?"

I nodded. "Kind of. But how do you have powers and kids when you exist only in the minds of those who believe?"

"Having been created by humans, we still are humans, as nothing can create something that is better than itself. We _are _human, but our powers, like immortality and our character powers, are the product of your imagination."

"So everything that just happened was our collective imagination?"

Athena shook her head. "Let me put it this way. Do you remember those Magic Tree House books you used to like so much? The adventures were real and actually happened to Jack and Annie, but Camelot, and therefore the adventures, only existed because the legend had not died."

I nodded, "So all of this exists because the legend has not died, but all this still happened? So does that boil down to me becoming part of the legend?"

Athena nodded. "That's a great way to explain it. We still exist because the legend has not died. You did this because the legend has not died. You became part of the most recent chapter of the legend. And we still have kids because that was part of the legend, just like how Merlin, Morgan, and the knights existed in those books you liked."

"Please tell me they don't exist too."

She laughed. "No, that legend died a long time ago. But it's the same theory. For the characters in those books, the adventures actually happened. But the worlds that created the adventures existed only in people's imagination. That seems like an oxymoron, but think on it a while. You'll understand. As for your birth, you were not born the way Annabeth was. You actually grew in the womb, giving you your blue-ish eyes. Your dad attracted me, but he was already married. So I sent you into Marie's womb. She would have had problems conceiving anyway." She changed topics. "And now that you understand that better, I think Artemis wanted to explain something to both of us. Like when and why she chose you?"

Artemis stepped up. "I blessed you when you were born, without telling Athena," she told me. "I knew you would have a hard life, and that what you would go through would give you a mindset like mine. But, contrary to what I project, not _all_ men are bad. Just the majority of them."

I smiled ruefully. "Do you know how many times I've tried to convince myself of that? I only started believing it when Percy focused on others instead of himself, turning down immortality to make you claim your kids."

They both nodded, Athena somewhat regretfully.

"He never ceases to amaze me," Artemis said. "Only Percy would think about his friends higher than himself. Not many heroes are like that. Anyway, you have a job ahead of you, and I saw that when you were born. I knew that, to fulfill your duty, you would need more than what you were born with, so I blessed you."

"I love the abilities I have. Have I discovered all of them?"

"Part of my blessing you haven't used yet is something the Hunters take for granted. In the wild, you are perfectly at home, and you can travel and hunt just like one of my Hunters."

"I'm not immortal right?"

"Not in the way you're thinking of, no. You are not physically immortal."

"Good. I don't want that."

Athena spoke up. "Although you were not officially rewarded by the council, I want to tell you something. For your bravery, and focusing on the wellbeing of your friends in the war, I have helped solve one of your problems. Your mom still cannot see through the Mist, but she will automatically accept anything you tell her demigod related. You will not have to worry about her trying to stop you from doing your job, like she did when you found out about being a demigod. Also, your dad is fine with you not visiting this summer. He is overjoyed that you had a college accept you at fourteen. He, unlike your mom, can see through the Mist—but not fully. Also, if you tell him something demigod related, his mind will translate what you say to something he sees through the slight Mist and he will accept it without question. Both your parents know you are part of something bigger, and while they don't know exactly what it entails, they will accept it and not try to stop you."

This was a _huge_ relief for me. One of my biggest worries was that I would have to put my parents in danger by telling them the truth.

"Thank you. I hope you know what that means to me, because I don't think I can put it into words."

"If your dad should ever see something demigod related," she told me, "forcing you to tell him, he can take it. However, as of now your mom cannot. Unless she becomes more open and patient, telling her would break her." I nodded, and Athena gave me a hug—a motherly hug from a Greek god—and left. Artemis turned to me.

"From me, I extended my blessing to that Pegasus you like so much. You can understand her now."

A huge smile crossed my face. "Thank you!"

"I also received a notice from God the Father that your church was trying to update the teen area a little. Your church got an anonymous donation for the exact amount needed to renovate. That's your mortal friends' reward. You can tell them when you get home."

"Thank you, Artemis." For the first time, I looked her in the eye. Love shone through.

Artemis held my eyes for a moment, then turned and walked off.

**Hey, everyone! Thanks to yellow331akb3 for your awesome review! You made me smile! Everyone else, I really wish you would review. I want to know what you think. Anyways, here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoyed it! I tried to explain Grace's powers a bit more, as well as how God and Zeus, etc. relate in this story. I hope it made sense as in no way do I want to even mention the thought that God does not exist or is lower than the Greeks, because He does exist and if the Greeks were real, they would be below Him.**


	13. Chapter 13

I walked out of the throne room and across Olympus, stunned at the damage done by Kronos' scythe. I found Annabeth waiting by the elevator. I turned invisible before walking up. I wanted to be near my sister, but I wasn't in the mood to talk. She looked around as if she sensed me there, but Percy came walking up then.

"Why do you smell like smoke," Annabeth asked him.

"Long story," he replied, and we boarded the elevator. I was still invisible. Neither of them talked on the way down.

At the bottom, we found Sally arguing with the doorman.

"We have to go up! My son…" She spotted Percy. "Percy!" She started fawning over him, like a mother should. I started to relax. We had won the war. Many of my friends had survived. Chiron had been rushed back to camp. He should be ok. But life is never that easy. Nico came running up, babbling something about Rachel taking Blackjack to camp. Percy looked mad and he and Annabeth started jogging to the shore. Being nosy, I ran after them invisibly. I saw them get on hippocampi at the shore, and, knowing hippocampi wouldn't respond to me, I whistled. I hoped Jellybean was nearby and would answer me. I turned visible and a second later, the multicolored Pegasus landed next to me.

"Will you take me to camp? Something's going on and I want to know what."

_Sure_, she readied herself for me to board. Once I did, she took off. I got to camp as Percy bounced off the force field around Rachel.

Not bothering to turn invisible, I watched as the Oracle stepped outside, onto the Big House porch. The mummy shuffled towards Rachel, as if drawn to her.

Rachel held out her arms, unafraid. "You've waited too long, but I'm here now."

Apollo appeared and asked if Rachel was sure. When she said yes, he said, "Then proceed."

Rachel closed her eyes. "I accept this role. I pledge myself to Apollo, god of Oracles. I open my eyes to the future and embrace the past. I accept the spirit of Delphi, Voice of the gods, Speaker of Riddles, Seer of Fate."

The Mist thickened around her and a green column of smoke flowed from the mummy to Rachel. The mummy crumbled to dust and opaque Mist enveloped Rachel. Finally, the smoke cleared, and Rachel collapsed.

Annabeth, Nico, and Percy rushed to her. I hung back, too stunned by what I had just witnessed to think straight. Before they could reach Rachel, however, Apollo stopped them, saying this was the most delicate part. After another couple of words I didn't pay attention to, Percy rushed to Rachel's side, just as her eyes opened. Apollo came down from the porch.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the new Oracle of Delphi."

Annabeth and Percy discussed that with Rachel a minute, but I zoned out, thinking about what that meant. I shook myself back to the present when Rachel doubled over.

She stood up, her eyes serpent green and her voice tripled:

_"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call._

_To storm or fire the world must fall._

_An oath to keep with a final breath,_

_And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."_

Rachel collapsed, but Percy and Nico caught her and helped her to the porch. I knew Percy would pester her with questions, which I didn't want or need to hear, so I wandered off.

I ended up at the canoe lake. I sat for a while, mulling over everything that had happened. I wouldn't let my grief show—people were still around and I refused to cry in public—but I did want to think things over.

After enjoying the silence a while, I walked around the shore to a secluded, slightly foggy area. Perfect for calling. Tossing a drachma in, I said, "Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Andy Smith."

The air shimmered and Andy appeared on screen, the background telling me he was back home. I masked my emotions the best I could. I didn't want him to worry about me.

"Hey, Andy. Did everyone make it?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah." His voice was as quiet as mine. His face told me he was stunned about something, maybe I wasn't hiding my tumulus emotions that well. "We all made it back. Nobody here suspected anything. My wife thought I was a church conference. Other people had different excuses. Our various minor injuries have healed already and nobody got severely hurt. We also got a donation. Not many people knew we were trying to renovate. Would you happen to know anything about that?"

"Good." I didn't want to think about losing more people. I had lost enough. I felt like I was about to cry. I needed to be alone, to compose myself before the shroud burning in a few hours. "I'm glad everyone made it. And the money was your reward for helping. God the Father told Artemis about the renovations and she sent the donation." I switched topic. "Camp this year will go to the day before school starts. I'll be back then, okay?"

He nodded. "I'll see you then. And Grace? You're awesome on the battlefield. I'm glad I got to see that side of you."

I flushed. "You're pretty good, too, considering two months ago this was fictional stories." He smiled at my attempted to joke. "See you in a couple weeks, Andy." I disconnected and headed to the Athena cabin. A room full of books would let me clear my head and an empty room might allow me to release a little before the shroud burning tonight.

I spent the day in the empty library. Nobody bothered me, probably not even realizing I was there since, after finding the latch on my side, I shut the door completely. Annabeth probably thought I was still in the city, or maybe she wasn't thinking of me. She still looked pretty shaken up about all that had happened, mostly about Luke (Percy had explained vaguely what had happened).

In that library, I didn't read. I didn't cry. I stared. For over half the afternoon, I stared at the wall, trying to process what had happened.

**Response to reveiw: Sassycassie218: Thank you for your awesome review! You made my day. Thanks for the advice. It's a great idea and I'll try to incorporate it in later. I'm planning something for later on (you can pm me for the spoiler as a reward for your awesome review.) He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. There are no other gods higher than Him. It saddens me that not very many people know that now. Thank you again for your review as it brightened my day and told me that I'm doing something right. :)**

**Everyone: No that we're past the Titan war, I had a different take than most other writers. Grace just found out she was a demigod, then 2 months later went through a war. I think she would be in a type of shock, and the next chapter or two will portray that. I mean, really. If you went through a war 2 months after finding out monsters and demigods are real, if you saw people war, pain, and death for the first time, and didn't have a reason to bury it and push through, I think even the strongest person would have a hard time with that. Anyway, thanks for reading, you know I want reviews, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	14. Chapter 14

I remembered those who had died. I remembered Beckendorf, Silena, Michael, and all the others who had given their life. I remembered them alive, seeing them in Capture the Flag, watching them at the campfire, singing their heart out, sneaking glances of them sparring when they thought I wasn't there. I saw the Apollo cabin cursing the Ares, and the creative rhyming that one camper did.

I remembered Luke back before he betrayed us, before I realized this was real. I thought of those who used to be on our side. I thought of Ethan Nakamura, pledging himself to Kronos, and remembered someone saying he had betrayed Kronos, causing own death.

My thoughts were too mixed to pray, so I simply let the Holy Spirit pray for me. I bared my heart to God, trying to rid myself of my grief. I thought of the entire summer, and, still, I couldn't cry.

Eventually, I turned on my mp3 and set the song that best described my mode to repeat. I listened to Worn, by Tenth Avenue North, for three hours.

Finally, campfire time arrived and I went to burn the shrouds for the dead.

Silena's shroud was hot pink, but embroidered with an electric spear. The Ares and Aphrodite cabins lit the shroud together, both claiming her as a hero. Nobody mentioned the word _spy,_ and that secret burned away as the perfume smoke drifted to the sky.

Ethan Nakamura's shroud was black silk with crossed swords under scales. I didn't know exactly what he had done, but I sensed that he was the reason for Percy's gift from the gods.

There were too many shrouds to burn, too many lives lost. We comforted ourselves by reminding each other that their sacrifice helped win us the war.

No one talked much at dinner, and afterwards I went to a secluded spot just outside the pavilion. I was staring off into space when I noticed Annabeth sit down next to Percy, who hadn't left the Poseidon table. She had what looked like a cake in her hand, and I figured she was telling him happy birthday. After some conversation and laughing, Annabeth put her hands around his neck, then kissed him. I crept closer. Knowing the other kids here, there was no way they would have privacy after that, and I needed something else to focus on—even if just for a few minutes.

I knew I was right when I heard Clarisse growl, "Well, it's about time!"

I joined the throng led by Clarisse, hoisting Annabeth and Percy on our shoulders. Connor called out the canoe lake, and that's where we went. Percy turned completely red, and Annabeth was laughing. When we threw them in the lake, they stayed down a while. Percy probably formed an air bubble and they were down there kissing.

Compared to last week, the final two weeks of camp were stress-free. Nico was busy building a Hades cabin, and being built near-by were Nemesis, Iris, Hypnos, and many more I couldn't recognize yet.

Annabeth was frantic: she's in charge of rebuilding Olympus _and_ building the new cabins. Plus, she's trying to spend time with Percy—her new boyfriend—and lead the cabin. Needless to say, as much as I love my sister, I tried to avoid her. I was sick of being drafted to help build. I didn't mind helping her plan, but she recruited her siblings to do the building.

I didn't know how they could be so upbeat. I was still in shock that I was a demigod and had just finished a war. I receded into myself, becoming even quieter. I didn't know how to deal with this, so I didn't. I became a loner, well, more than usual, and people were too busy with other stuff to notice the new girl was in shock. I shut off my emotions. If I didn't care, it wouldn't hurt. I hid in the Athena library most days. Others I spent on the beach, just staring into space.

The Hermes cabin wasn't near as crowded now. Within a few days of their promise, the gods claimed all their kids. That, plus all the new demigods arriving, will make camp a lot different next year.

Since we weren't preparing for battle, I didn't know what to do. My entire summer had been devoted to preparing for the war. I took to walking on the beach all day. Most were either helping build the new cabins or hanging with friends. The only people I wanted to be around—Annabeth and Thalia—were busy, Annabeth with architecture and Thalia with the Hunters. I had gotten pretty close to Malcolm over the summer, but he was too close to Annabeth to avoid being drafted. So I walked. I walked up and down the length of the camp beach. Sometimes I stopped to sit and stare at the ocean—which had always calmed me (weird, considering the Athena/Poseidon rivalry)—but mostly I walked. I walked to clear my mind, to avoid thinking about the war.

Sometime in the late afternoon the last day of camp, I was walking near the Poseidon cabin when I saw Percy in the distance. He was talking to an older version of himself. _Must be his father, Poseidon_. Wanting to give them privacy, I turned around and walked the other way. By the time I got back to that spot on the beach, both of them were gone. I sat down near where Percy had been and stared into space for a while before going to dinner. Tonight was the bead ceremony.

The Hephaestus cabin made the bead this year: the Empire State Building with the names of the heroes who had died etched in tiny Greek letters around the image. Instead of wearing a new necklace, I just put the bead on my other necklace. As down as I was, I still felt proud of myself. Not many people could claim to have done what I had their first year here.

"Never forget this summer!" Chiron told us, trotting up front with a slight limp. I know I would never forget this summer. I had learned so much. "We have discovered bravery and friendship and courage this summer. We have upheld the honor of the camp." Chiron glanced Percy's way in pride. "And now, early to bed! Remember, you must vacate your cabins by noon tomorrow unless you've made arrangements to stay the year with us. The cleaning harpies will eat any stranglers, and I'd hate to end the summer on a sour note!"

We all drifted off to bed. I had already sent my mom a Facebook message—the Hephaestus cabin had made all my electronics monster-proof after the Wilds—saying I would be back around one or two the next day.

**Thank you James and Guest for your reviews.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next few chapter reach outside the book a bit. As this story is ****_The Life of a Demigod_**** and not ****_The High Points in the Life of a Demigod, _****I am about to delve into life outside of camp. Life for a demigod does not stop when you leave camp, it just usually isn't written about. Thanks for reading, and please review your thoughts!**


	15. Chapter 15

The next day, I thought about talking to Annabeth, releasing my pent-up emotions, but I couldn't bring myself to. She was so happy with Percy, seemingly over the battle. I didn't want her to worry about me when she should be with her boyfriend and thinking about remodeling Olympus. So, after I gathered my things to ride home on Jellybean, I told everyone goodbye, saving Annabeth for last. Walking up to her, I covered up my emotions and gave her a huge hug.

"This summer, I gained a sister, and I don't want to lose her during the year. Keep in touch?"

She nodded. "We can Iris Message whenever you want. See you at Christmas?"

Shaking my head, I told her, "I probably won't be back until next summer, unless I sneak up here for a weekend. I spend Christmas break with my dad. Keep me up to date on what happens here? The life of a demigod is never easy. Something is bound to happen."

She nodded. "I hope nothing happens, but, yes, I'll keep you informed."

I gave her another hug, trying to delay having to go. I felt safe here, even though my mood was low. I didn't want to leave, but I had to.

She hugged me back. "I know you don't want to, but you need to get moving to get home on time. You have school tomorrow. Don't worry. I'm an IM away and if you need help I can be there in an hour by Pegasus."

I nodded, then turned to go, looking back at the room before I closed the door.

I took my time winding my way to the stables, taking the long way, but it still came too soon.

"Jellybean!" I called out. "Time to go!"

Jellybean came out of her stall at the end.

_You look down. Are you ok?_ I don't think she expected me to answer.

"I'm fine," I lied. "Still in a little shock about the battle." I noticed the way she started, shocked I had answered her question.

_Since when can you understand me?_

"Artemis extended her blessing to understanding you after the battle. She noticed how much I like you."

_I like you too. I hated how Blackjack was always able to chat with Percy, but nobody could chat with me because only Percy can understand pegasi. Nice to have a demigod friend. So we're headed to where I picked you up the first time, right?_

"Almost. I'm going to have you drop me just out of sight of the house instead. That pond is a ways from my house, and I don't want to walk that far."

_Okay. _We lapsed into silence.

After an hour of flying, we landed at the top of the driveway to the empty property next door.

"You hanging around here or going back to camp?" I asked her after I got off.

_I'm going back to camp, but part of being able to understand me is being able to call me whenever you want._

"Awesome," I told her. "Hopefully I won't need help, but I'll call if I do. See you later, Jellybean."

_Take care, Grace. No matter what you tell me, I know you're not yourself. If it's the battle, don't blame yourself for the deaths. Blame Kronos. You didn't kill them, he did._

"Thanks, Jellybean. I catch you later. Thanks for the ride."

_Anytime._ She took off, headed back north, and I walked around the corner to my driveway.

Checking the mailbox, empty, I made my way down the driveway and inside. Today was a weekday, so mom was still at work. I shot a text telling her I was home and went to my room. I needed to unpack and get ready for school tomorrow.

Putting my stuff away gave me something to do to stop thinking for a while. My ADHD was going nuts and the one thing on my brain was the one thing I didn't want to think about—the war. When I finished, I got online and blasted my music until mom got home a couple hours later.

The door slammed. I tuned off my music. "Honey, where are you?"

"In my room!" I put a smile on my face. Hopefully, she would buy it.

My door opened. "How was class? And camp?"

"Both where great! I learned a lot." Well, at least that was truth. I did learn, and, overall, I enjoyed both camps. The Wilds was a great place to relax and, even though we had a war, I still enjoyed Camp Half-Blood.

"So tell me about it!" I gave her the edited answer, talking mostly about the Wilds and plastering my face with the right emotion for the story.

"…and early this morning I said goodbye to my roommates and climbed in the car headed for the airport. Another car picked me up in Nashville and drove me here."

"It sounds like you had fun and learned a lot."

_You can say that again,_ I thought darkly. I didn't show my thoughts, though, and replied, "I'm really tired. I think I'll go to bed early. Need to be rested for my first day of school."

"Okay, honey. Goodnight. Don't forget to set your alarm." She left the room. I waited a few minutes, then turned off the lights. I doubted I would sleep tonight.

The next morning my alarm went off at six. I shut the horrible thing off, turned on my tv to the Christian music station I like, and crawled out of bed. Considering I only got four or five hours of sleep last night, I'm not very tired. Maybe my body got accustomed to a lack of sleep during—wait. Don't think about that. Anyway, I crawled out of bed and got ready.

I reached school at my normal 7:15 that morning, locked my bike to its post, and went about my routine. Let's get this day over with.

**Hello, my readers! Thanks to Sassycassie for the review and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**P.S. if anyone is any good at college pre-cal, PLEASE pm me. b/c I need help. word problem with vectors make my brain hurt. if anyone knows how to do these, please, please, please help me!**


	16. Chapter 16

That week was horrid. I never had to pay attention in class—which was good, considering my ADHD—but going back to normal gave my brain too much time to think. I ended up using my class time to work through what had happened over the summer, and it showed. Teachers asked if I was okay. Some asked what had happed. The JROTC instructor told me I looked mad about something. (I looked at him funny, lied, and told him I was fine.) Even my mom noticed. She assumed it was "Cecil betraying us by stealing from us" and I didn't correct her. The most awkward, though, was when the Dean of Students at my school, Mr. Tompkins, confronted me between third and fourth block the second week of school.

"I worry about you."

I blew him off, saying something to the effect of "Why would you do that? I'm fine."

He studied me and was about to say something further when we heard a crash. Instinct told me a monster had found me.

"εξακοντίζομαι," I mumbled. _Shoot._ "Gotta run!" I rushed out, but not before noticing the stunned look on his face.

Darting into the hall, I saw the one monster I was sure I would never battle. The Minotaur. My bow appeared in my hand.

"Hey! I thought you were Percy's monster. Why are you here?"

He bellowed and I ran outside, making him follow me. I really didn't want to trash the school. I wasn't worried about what they saw. I could manipulate the Mist later.

Once we were both outside, away from the students, I turned and fired. The silver arrow sank into the monster and he crumbled to dust. I reveled in the adrenaline rush I had. I loved it. It lifted my mood and made me feel alive. But by the time I reached the doors to the school, it was gone, and I reverted back to quiet.

The superintendent barreled out of his office. "What was that?! Grace, what do you have to say for yourself?" I noticed Mr. Tompkins standing back, studying me with an unreadable look on his face. _Hmm._ I turned to Mr. Brannon and snapped my fingers.

"What do you mean what was that?" I told him calmly. "Don't you remember? A cow came barging into school going crazy. All I did was lead it back outside."

He calmed down immediately. "Right. What was I doing?"

"You were heading back to your office." He turned and left, along with the students who had been watching. Thankfully, my trick affected them too. I heard one group gossiping about some cow farm down the road. I tried to become part of the group, but Mr. Tompkins stopped me.

"Come with me." I raised an eyebrow, but followed him into an empty classroom.

"What?" I was wary. What if he was a monster, too?

"Chill out. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know what that really was. Your trick didn't fool me. I saw what happened. I want to know the truth, to see if it matches what I saw."

I stared in his general direction, my blood running cold. "Then what did you see? If I saw the same thing, I'll say so."

He nodded. "Deal. I saw the Minotaur from Greek myths." I looked down, composing my thoughts for a second before looking back up. I decided to test him.

_"Do you have both your parents?"_ I asked in Greek.

_"Yes."_ Hmm. Weird. One more.

"_Have you ever seen this before?"_ He hadn't caught on to the language change yet.

"_Yes. And my maternal grandmother always told these stories. She was the only one who believed me."_ I paused, letting his words sink in, and waiting for him to realize what had happened.

"Ποια ήταν η—" He paused. "What was that?"

"You know Greek. My guess is that your grandmother was a demigod." I scribbled down Andy's number. "That's Andy. Call him. He can explain. I'm not in the mood." I walked off. I needed to get to fourth block. The bathroom had a lock on it, and I went there when I needed a cry. Facing the Minotaur had brought back the war too clearly, and I needed to release.

Walking in the building, I told the instructor I had been held up by Mr. Tompkins, waited for his nod, and went to the bathroom. When I came out fifteen minutes later, my face had been scrubbed and I could put my stone-face mask back on.

I slowly worked through it. Andy provided someone to talk to, and I called Annabeth often, though I never discussed anything specific with her. Mr. Tompkins had called Andy a few minutes after I gave the number, so he understood the occasional monster attack. One Friday, three months after the battle, mom gave me what she thought was great news. I wasn't so sure.

"Grace! Your book came in the mail!"

I got excited, well, somewhat. I hadn't gotten to a very high of a level of happy in a while "Which one?" I called.

"The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan."

My shoulders sagged. Mom ordered the book about the battle this summer. Rick must write fast. It had only been three months. I put a half-smile on my face for mom, and went to get it.

"Thanks mom." She didn't notice the lie and I headed upstairs with the book, debating whether to read it.

I decided it might help to read it, so I settled onto my bed and opened the book. With a little hesitation, I started the first chapter: "The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the hood of my car…"

I stayed in my room for three hours laughing, crying, reliving the battle and the summer that lead up to it. I laughed at Rachel kissing Percy, cried again over Beckendorf's death, saw who the real hero of the prophecy was, put together the full meaning of the prophecy, and fit a few pieces together from Percy's point of view. The time I spent in my room that evening helped me heal. I knew I would never be the same. I had seen things no fourteen year old should ever see, but I would heal, and I would keep moving. After reading that book, I had a genuine smile on my face for the first time in three months.

**Hello, my readers! I'm getting pretty good at this updating soon thing :) hope you liked the chapter!**


	17. Chapter 17

Life was fairly normal until Christmas break. An occasional monster attacked at school, but the Mist covered it up and my grades didn't suffer. I talked with Annabeth at least once a week and called Jellybean to take me to camp once a month—using the JROTC training excuse on my mom. My dad, who I talk to every evening, never brought up the summer except once to ask how it went.

Finally, December 16—the first day of Christmas break—came, and I packed for my dad's. Telling mom that I had caught a ride with a friend to the airport, and telling dad a friend from church was picking me up at the airport, I summoned Jellybean. She was already in the area, having known I would need her soon, and, twenty minutes later, Jellybean landed on the property next door.

"Hey, Jellybean. Anything new at camp?" I asked as we took off. It had been a couple days since I talked to Annabeth and this made a good conversation starter.

Jellybean shook her head. _Not my place to tell. You need to IM Annabeth._

I paled. "What's going on?"

_Annabeth made me promise to let her tell you. Wait until we get to your dad's. You can message her then._ I knew I wouldn't get anything out of her, so I listened to my music during the ride.

Four hours after taking off, we came down in my front yard in Colorado. It being nighttime, I didn't have to worry about the neighbors seeing my pegasus. I dismounted and, telling Jellybean goodbye and what day to pick me up, walked to the front of the house, ringing the doorbell.

A minute later, Dad came to the door. I jumped on him in a hug.

"Grace! I was just wondering when you'd get here! Come in. How was your flight?"

"It was quiet. I want a shower and I received some news on the way here. I need to go make a call. I'll be downstairs in a few minutes, okay?"

He studied my face. "I hope everything's okay. I'll be downstairs." I nodded and, as he went to the downstairs living room, I closed myself in the bathroom and turned on the shower. Digging a drachma out of my bag, I threw it into the rainbow forming in the steam.

"Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Annabeth Chase."

The air shimmered and cabin six appeared. Annabeth was the only one there, and something was wrong. She was crying her eyes out.

"Annabeth! What's going on?" She looked up and spotted my worried face.

"Percy's missing. He disappeared two days ago, the day I last talked to you."

"Oh, Annabeth. Do you need me to come there?" She knew I was with my dad.

"No. Stay with your dad. You need to spend time with him."

"Are you sure? I can be there in five hours."

"I'm sure. Spend time with your dad."

"Okay," I said hesitantly. "I'll call you every morning and you can call me whenever you want, you hear?"

She nodded. "I'll message if I need to. Enjoy your break, okay? Don't worry about me."

"You know I'll worry about you. I'm your sister. It'll be okay, Annabeth. Percy's too stubborn to get himself hurt. He'll be back. He might have just gone to his dad's palace."

She shook her head. "We've tried IMing. They don't go through. And there's something else. Olympus is closed. It has been since the day he went missing."

"Annabeth, as your sister, I'm telling you get over yourself. I know you're beyond worried about Percy because I am too, but crying on your bed won't help anything. Think. Kronos tried to make a comeback last summer. What do the myths say happened after Kronos was defeated the first time? If we can find that, we know what's going on."

She looked at me. "You're right. I need to do something productive. The Athena library has a section on rare myths. I'll set a few on it now."

"No. Set yourself on it. If you put someone else on the job, you'll have another excuse to mope."

She looked at me. "You've gotten stronger. Okay, I'll do it."

I decided to open up to my sister a little. "Annabeth, I want you to listen to me. Do you remember where I was after the war?"

She shook her head. "I didn't see you that day until the shroud burning."

"Right. Annabeth, I was in shock. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I had just survived the Titan war after only two months of training. I spend that day in the Athena library staring at the wall. I didn't read for almost three weeks and I didn't smile again for three months. I didn't work through it because I didn't know how. I retreated into myself. Annabeth, if you don't get moving, you'll do the same thing. And if I find out you've quit talking or planning, I _will_ come down there and get your butt in gear. Do you hear me?" She released a faint smile and nodded mutely. "Then get moving, and the next time I call I don't want to find you moping. It's one thing to cry. Crying is a release. It's a totally different thing to mope. Got it?" She nodded again. "Good. I've lost enough, I'm not losing my sister too. I love you too much. I'll call you tomorrow, Annabeth." She nodded and, as I cut the connection, she was getting up and drying her tears.

I turned the shower off and came out. Grabbing a soda, I went downstairs to be with my dad. Who knows how much time I have left.

When I got downstairs, Dad had turned the tv to my favorite show—Star Trek—and had curled on the couch waiting for me. We watched several episodes together before he spoke.

"Is everything ok?"

I was focused on the tv. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. Everything's fine." _For now._ The episode ended and I stood up. "I'm going to bed," I told him before he could ask. "Goodnight." I gave him a hug and went upstairs to my room.

Once there, I dug out my laptop and got online. I was going to help Annabeth search. I typed in "Greek myths after Titan War." Nothing. "What happened after Titan War?" I found a short blurb about some giants that was interesting, but nothing that could help.

Sighing, I closed my laptop and went to bed. Maybe tomorrow's IM would shed some light. Annabeth may have found something.

**Hi my readers! I know I'm a day late and I apologize. Stupid final coming up and I had a quiz today I had to study for. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! While I try to incorporate outside life into the story, trying to go week by week, or even month by month would have made the story boring, and many of you would stop reading either period or until I got to a "good" part, so I skipped a bit. You know I want reviews, so let me know what you think!**

**Response to my (1) review:**

**Guest: Thank you for reviewing and I'm so glad you like the story! Yes, only the one true God, the God of the Bible, is written with a capital G. The grammatical answer to that? B/c God is His name. God is not Zeus' name, or Ra's name, so it becomes a noun. Zeus is ****_a_**** god. Ra is ****_a_**** god. God ****_is _****God. The real (some might prefer the term "religious" but who am I kidding? It's the real one) answer to that? B/c He is the one true God and the only Person worthy to have His name and any words related to Him capitalized.**


	18. Chapter 18

The next day I got up and started my Colorado routine. Dad and I always went to parks and other fun place when I was in town. Today we went to launch model rockets then went to my favorite restaurant—Wing Stop—for dinner. I waited until dad went to get on the computer that evening before I called Annabeth.

Once the bathroom was filled with steam, I placed the call. "Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Annabeth Chase, Camp Half-Blood." The mist shimmered and Annabeth appeared, looking better than yesterday, but still worried.

"Annabeth!" She looked up. "How'd the search go?"

"I didn't have time. Hera sent me a dream message last night."

_Uh, oh. _"What did she say?" I kept me voice even. I didn't like Hera any more than Annabeth did.

"She said I would find my answer at the Grand Canyon." She paused.

"Well did you? Annabeth, I can only escape my dad for so long. What happened?"

"Sorry. Butch and I went to the skywalk. We found three demigods, Jason, Piper, and Leo. They will be going on the quest. Hera contacted Piper through Rachel. Hera's been kidnapped." I paled, and she noticed.

"Woah, what? You ok?"

"I'm fine," I replied. "While you were rescuing demigods, I was researching. Hera's been kidnapped before, but the only site I found didn't say by who or how. I also found a short blurb about some giants. Have you heard any myths about giants?"

Now it was her turn to pale. "After the first Titan War, Gaia birthed a new race. Twenty-four giants, created to be the anti-gods, stormed Olympus. It started with Hera being kidnapped. The giants can only be defeated by a combination of god and demigod. Oh my gods, we're in trouble. I hope we're wrong and it's something else."

"But what else would it be?"

"I don't know. And Chiron's hiding something from me. Jason showed up with marks on his right forearm, twelve lines, an eagle, and SPQR. I can't figure it out."

"Weird," I agreed. I turned the shower off, leaving me a couple more minutes to finish the call. I still needed to take a shower and I couldn't waste all the hot water. "I'll do some research, make sure you do some too. I need to get off before my dad gets suspicious. I can't keep using so much water."

"Get a small mister. They're a dollar at the store. Much easier."

"That's a great idea. But I still need to go. Hang in there Annabeth. We'll find him."

She flashed a half-smile and I winced, recognizing the look on her face. "Talk to you later, Grace."

I disconnected, took a shower, then walked out to find my dad. I had an idea. I could go to camp for a day to help Annabeth and dad wouldn't know. I found him downstairs in his workroom.

"Hey, Dad. Ever wanted to spend a couple days in New York?"

"Who wouldn't, honey? I've never been to New York, but it's so expensive. I don't think we can afford it."

"I just received a call from that school I went to last summer. They had forgotten to tell me that my grades got us free airfare once a year to go to New York City. Wondered if you wanted to go. We can leave tomorrow, spend the next day in the city and come back the twentieth and still have enough time to set up for Christmas Eve." The family gathered here every year to spend Christmas Eve together. "I have winter camping gear," part of my blessed of Artemis gear, "and I know a place where we can get free food. Also, some of my friends are having a sort of reunion tomorrow night that I want to go to. What do you say?" I crossed my fingers, hoping he would buy it. Since it was related to camp, I almost knew he would.

"Give me some time to think on it. I'll tell you in an hour."

My shoulders sagged, but I replied, "That works," and wandered off. I have some research that would take about an hour.

Getting on my computer, I typed in SPQR. The top five results included two restaurants and three items about Rome. Apparently SPQR stood for Senātus Populusque Rōmānus, or The Senate and People of Rome. Oh, great. Jason may be Roman, and tradition states the Romans were enemies. I didn't care too much about old grudges, but that didn't mean we could trust him. I definitely needed to get to camp.

After searching a bit more, and finding nothing, I placed an IM to Chiron, securing his permission to camp in the woods and eat off the camp. For those two days, my dad could enter the woods, but may or may not be able to enter camp itself. I didn't mention my idea to him. After disconnecting, I went to find Dad, swearing that if he said no I would use the Mist on him. Camp may be in danger.

Finding him on his computer downstairs, I walked up, sat on the couch facing him, and stared. After a minute, he squirmed. "What?"

"It's been over an hour and if we're going we need to get packing."

He sighed, then put his computer on the table next to him, looking at me.

"Airfare is free?"

"Yup. And they'll pick us up here. It's a new invention. Single person planes. They'll send us two."

"You trust this invention?"

"I flew one to class, camp, back to class, home, then here. Yeah, I trust them."

"You're willing to camp in a New York winter?"

"Yup. It's not that cold and if it was we wouldn't feel it anyway. My gear is really nice."

"We can get free food? And not from a soup kitchen."

"Yup. Regular meal, we can eat it in the tent."

"Where would you get this food?"

"My roommates live near the camping area." True enough.

"Welll," he said, dragging the word out. "I guess so."

I tackled him in a hug. "Thank you! You need to pack clothes for three days. I have the gear. We leave at nine tomorrow morning. It's a five hour flight from here. There should not be internet, so leave your computer, and we want to be sightseeing anyway." I scampered off, glancing behind me to make sure he was getting up.

**Hey, my readers! Thanks to Freckle-el-Gecko and SkyCrawlers123 for the reviews. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**P.S. It may be a day or two longer than usual before I update. I'm leaving town, so it may be Wed. or Thurs before I can get on. Sorry!**


	19. Chapter 19

Reaching my room, I grabbed my Hunter's bag and checked that my gear was in there. It was, and I started throwing my stuff in. I grabbed all the stuff I brought with me, including my computer. Camp had internet, but I wasn't going to tell dad that. I also had an app on there I used every so often. I went to the kitchen and grabbed a few snacks for the ride, then went back to by room.

_Jellybean, _I called.

_What's up, Grace?_ she replied.

_I need a ride to New York for Dad and me. Can you and a friend be here at nine tomorrow morning?_

_ Why are you taking your dad to camp? You said he can't see through the Mist._

_ Camp may be in danger. I need to talk to Annabeth, and not through an IM. I told Dad that my school last summer offered free airfare on a new invention called the single-person plane. I'll speak to Annabeth tomorrow afternoon while Dad explores the city. On the nineteenth, Dad and I will tour New York during the day, and I'll leave him at our tent when I go to camp in the evening. We'll be in the camp woods, so there's little chance of a monster attack._

_ Have you cleared that with Chiron?_

_ Yeah, so will you and a friend come get us?_

_ Sure. I'll bring Amber, that honey brown mare that Aaron rode on when you first came to camp._

_ Great. Thanks. And remember when you get here, my dad will think you're a mini plane and not a pegasus._

Jellybean chuckled._ Okay. I'll see you tomorrow where I dropped you off?_

_ Yup. See you then._

I broke connection and went to see if dad had everything. I got a little mad when I found him in front of the tv.

"Are you packed?"

"Almost," he replied.

"Dad! It's ten pm now and we leave at nine in the morning. You may be an early riser, but not that early! Now come into your room with me so I can make sure you have everything, then you can put it all in my bag."

We reached his room.

"Your bag?" he asked. "I don't need you carrying my stuff, Honey. I can handle it."

"Chill out. I can carry all our stuff easier than you can carry a backpack. Now what all do you have? Shirts for three days?"

"Right here." He pointed to his bed.

"Pants?"

"There." Next to the shirts.

"Underclothes?"

"Under the shirts."

"Two coats? One to wear up there and a warmer one for there?"

"Upstairs."

"Go get them."

He looked as if he was going to protest, but closed his mouth and got the coats, coming down a second later.

"Pajamas?"

"Over there." Next to his pants.

"Ok. Now hand me your shirts." He passed them over and I put them in my bag. "Pants." Into the bag. "Underclothes." Packed. "Lighter coat. You'll wear the other on the ride. The planes are open." His lighter coat went into my bag. "Pajamas." Packed. "Now go get your hygiene stuff. Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, all of it." He got it. "In the morning, you will act like you're at a hotel. You take something out, use it, then put it directly back in the bag." I glanced at my watch. "It's ten thirty. Get to bed. We leave at nine with airport punctuality."

He gave me a look that clearly said, _Since when are you a leader?_ but got ready for bed as I left the room.

I sat on my bed upstairs, planning. Fifteen minutes later, I finally turned on my alarm, off my light, and went to bed.

At eight the next morning, my alarm went off and I climbed out of bed. It took me forty-five minutes to get ready, and, at quarter to nine, I went to find dad. I found him brushing his teeth.

"I'm almost ready," he told me when he cleared his mouth.

"Hurry. They will be here in fifteen minutes."

Ten minutes later, we were locking the front door when Jellybean and Amber landed. I couldn't speak to Amber, but I told Jellybean hi before dad turned around.

"That is very cool!" he said. "Who thought these up?"

"Um, two people with really weird names. Medusa and Poseidon." Jellybean snickered behind me.

_That's one way to put it,_ she told me. I mentally rolled my eyes at her.

I wanted to find out what he saw, so I said, "Everyone sees them different depending on the angle. What do you see?"

"This one," he pointed to Amber, "Looks like a honey brown miniature passenger plane while the other looks multicolored."

I smirked. "Nice. The honey brown one is yours and has been christened Amber. Mine is Jellybean. Now climb on. We have over a five-hour ride. And stay awake. These things don't have a seat belt. They also, as you can see, don't have walls. We can entertain ourselves by watching the scenery and talking."

He nodded and climbed on, probably wondering why a plane had a horse saddle-style seat. He didn't comment and we got moving.

That ride was quieter than I expected. I loved watching the scenery below, trying to guess where we were, but I thought dad would want to talk. He didn't, so I watched the passing scenery and chatted with Jellybean.

**Hello, my readers! What happened? I didn't get any reviews last chapter. Was it really that bad? Or was it b/c I was out of town? Well, now that I'm back, I want some reviews. Remember, if my email explodes w/ reviews, you get another chapter immediately!**

**P.S. I just posted a new oneshot! Go check it out!**


	20. Chapter 20

At four that afternoon, we started getting close to camp, and I called out to dad.

"We'll be landing in a few minutes. I'll lead us to the campsite, then I'll go get us dinner. After dinner is my class reunion. I need you to promise me you'll stay near the tent. These woods are tricky and I don't want you to get lost."

It felt incredibly weird being the leader—that was usually Dad's job and he hated when he wasn't the leader—but we were working with things only I understood. I hoped he wouldn't get hurt.

I glanced over in time to see him nod. "Promise me," I told him.

He looked reluctant but said, "I promise." That satisfied me. I knew he wouldn't break a promise. We came in view of camp.

_Jellybean, drop us in the clearing out of sight of camp and away from Capture the Flag territory, but inside camp woods._

_ Got it._

We flew in sight of camp—Jellybean knew I was nervous and wanted to see it—then headed for the woods. As we flew over the Big House and without Dad noticing, I dropped a note for Chiron saying I was here—simply a rock I had written his name on. When either he saw it or one of the campers brought it to him, Chiron would know I would be along later to get some food, then come back to spend the evening there.

When we landed, Dad climbed off Amber and I got off Jellybean. Thanking Jellybean and asking her to extend my thanks to Amber, they flew to camp when Dad looked away.

When he looked back, he noticed they were gone and asked, "Where did the planes go?"

"Remote control," I answered quickly. "I flew them to a spot in the woods." I changed topic. "It's four oh five. We need to set up the tents before I go get dinner, which is served at five."

I reached into my bag and pulled out two tents, and Dad's jaw dropped. "How did you fit those in there?"

"Special design. It can hold just about anything and special straps make it appear nothing's there. It also balances in a way to where it feels empty."

"You do have our stuff, right?"

"Stuff?

"Grace." He trailed off at the end.

"I forgot it."

"Grace." He raised his voice a little, as if to make sure I heard him.

"I didn't have time." I was covering a smile by now.

"Grace!" Yes, I got him frustrated!

"Of course I got the stuff!" I was rolling by now. The movie reference clicked, and he laughed too.

"Ok, you got me. Now help me set up this tent."

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Set up your own tent. I have mine to set up." He stared at me. I sighed. "Tell you what. Let me set up mine and if you haven't set your up by the time I'm done I'll help you."

I had mine set up in about five minutes. As a precaution, I faced it directly to camp, so if I had to get up and run, a straight run would take me to camp. He started being stubborn, saying he didn't need help, so I let him do it. It took about thirty minutes. By the time he was done, it was time for me to go get dinner.

I looked at him, clearly waiting for his promise. He read my look correctly.

"I promise I will stay near the tent."

I nodded. "Stay in this clearing. The woods are _not_ safe," I stressed.

Obviously doubtful, he nodded. "I'll stay in the clearing."

"Good. My computer is in the tent. You can play regular games and it might pick up three G here. I doubt there is wi-fi, but if there is, don't try to access it. People around here can track you—trust me. I learned that the hard way. I'll be back in around thirty minutes with dinner."

He nodded and, as I walked off, I saw him stretch out on the ground, enjoying the warmth from my Hunter's heater.

I crept through the woods toward camp, trying not to draw monsters or get caught. Finally, I reached the edge of the woods. Peering through the branches, I rubbed my necklace. I wanted to see without being seen. I had a few minutes to scout and get food before my thirty minutes, so I searched out Annabeth. After checking the arena, Big House, and the dining pavilion, I was starting to worry, but I eventually found her in the cabin.

Going inside, I waited a second for Malcolm to stop talking to her and leave before I became visible. A second later, she saw me and bolted to her feet, startled.

"Grace! What are you doing here?"

"First things first. Where's the newbie? Jason?" I was visibly nervous. Where was we? Had to warn the camp…

"Gone. All three of them—Piper, Leo, and Jason—left this morning. Grace, what's wrong?"

I looked her in the eye. "SPQR means Senātus Populusque Rōmānus."

"The Senate and People of Rome," she translated quietly.

"Annabeth, Jason is a Roman. Tradition says Romans are enemies of Greeks. Can we trust him?"

She thought a minute, getting over her shock. "Yes," she finally said. "We can. Jason doesn't know who he is, but that explains why he likes the Roman names so much. And we figured out a little last night. Jason is the son of Zeus—or Jupiter if he's from the Roman gods, Piper the daughter of Aphrodite, and Leo the son of Hephaestus. Hera has been kidnapped. The giants are rising, but only Chiron, you, and I know about the giants. Jason, Leo, and Piper are on a quest to free Hera. Their deadline is the solstice, in three days."

I nodded. "I hope you're right that we can trust him. I'll be around until the day after tomorrow. I'm getting dinner for Dad and I now, and going back to my camp. After dinner, I'll hang out here until lights out. Tomorrow, I'll be in the city with Dad and will be back tomorrow evening. We leave the twentieth." I checked my watch. "I'm out of time, for now. I'll be back after dinner."

She nodded, "Catch you later, Grace."

I turned invisible and jogged outside and up to the dining pavilion. Finding Chiron alone, I stepped into his line of vision, and turned visible.

He smiled. "Hello, Grace. Did you have a good trip here?"

"Yes. I think Dad enjoyed riding the "single-person planes,"" I laughed, and so did he.

"Here are two plates," he told me as he brought them out, "and the goblets we use. The plates are some of the magic plates we use every so often. They work like the cups do."

I nodded my understanding. "Speak to them?"

"Yes. You can return them on the last morning you're at camp, which would be the twentieth, correct?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Thanks Chiron. I'll be back after dinner to hang out until lights out."

He acknowledged and I put the cups and plates in my bag, turned invisible, and started walking back to camp. I reached the clearing a few minutes past when I wanted due to a pesky scorpion that decided I would make a good dinner. It dissolved when an arrow pierced its head and I finished the walk.

**Wow. Already on chapter 20! Hope everyone is enjoying it and thank you to Sassycassie123 and Guest for the reviews. This chapter's a bit longer to make up for the short chapter last time. That button labeled "review as..." is calling your name! Click it!**


	21. Chapter 21

When I reached the clearing, I found something I didn't expect: Dad reclined on the ground surfing the three G while a monster sneaked up behind him. _Oh, no you don't, _I thought._ My dad is _not_ your dinner!_

Without dad seeing me, I pulled out my bow, but put it back when I realized Dad was in the line of fire. I activate my sword instead and silently charged the empousa. Running behind it, I sliced it in half. The thing never knew what killed it, and probably appeared in Tartarus with a _What the ***** just happened?!_

Anyway, I changed my sword back to its coin form and acted like I just come from the forest.

"Hey, Dad! What do you want for dinner? My friend provided enough ingredients to make anything we want!"

The look on his face clearly said he doubted the anything part and he decided to test me. "I could go for anything. Umm, how about chicken wings?" He knew I needed very specific ingredients to make those the way we liked.

"Hmm, we could, but we ate hot wings yesterday. Now quit trying to test me and decided what you want."

He grinned wryly, "Oh, ok. Cheeseburger."

I smiled. "Coming right up. I can put that together in under five minutes. Go ahead. Time me," I said with a sly grin as I went in the tent.

Once out of his sight, I took the plates and cups from my bag and said to the first set, "Dr. Pepper, no ice, and a cheeseburger with ketchup and onions." The food appeared, hot and ready, and I turned to dad's. "Diet Dr. Pepper and a double cheeseburger with everything on it." I walked outside with our food.

"Here you go." Dad turned and, with a stunned look on his face, took the plate and cup. "And they said to bring them back and they'll do dishes," I told him with a smile. That would give me another reason to go back to camp after dinner.

We began eating. Several minutes in, I reminded him, "After dinner, I'm going back over there to hang out with my roommates. I'll be back around ten." He nodded and we finished eating in silence.

Twenty minutes later, it was completely dark and we were both finished eating. I stood, grabbing our plates, and went into the tent. The plates cleaned themselves automatically, but Dad didn't need to know that. I stuck the plates in my never-full bag and walked back out.

"I'll be back in a few hours," I told Dad as I gave him a hug. "Make sure to stay in the clearing and stay off the three G. Sorry, but it's too dangerous after dark."

The "too dangerous" piqued his concern. "Grace, talk to me. What is out there you're so afraid of?"

I paused, leaned out of the hug, then looked him straight in the eye, saying, "Something I hope you never face." I ran into the woods before he could answer, praying silently that he'd be okay while I was gone.

I reached camp faster this time since I ran most of the way. Walking out of the woods, I saw the campfire in the distance and walked to it. The fire was lower than usual today, and I figured it was because of the quest. Maybe my showing up would lighten the mood of the Athena cabin a little.

Nobody noticed me until I got close. I spotted my cabin on the other side of the fire and went around to reach them. Plopping down next to Annabeth in back, I said in a normal voice, "What's up?"

I winked at Annabeth when she glanced over and she nodded. _Act like I wasn't here earlier._

"Hey, Grace! What are you doing here?"

Suddenly, I was surrounded by my cabin, all saying something different.

"How long are you here?"

"Why haven't we seen you in the cabin?"

"Have you heard the news?"

"Woah, woah, woah! Slow down!" I laughed. "I can't answer you all at once! I'm here for tonight and tomorrow night. You won't see me during the day. I'm here with my dad, and he doesn't know about the gods, so we're camping out in the woods, which is why you haven't seen me. Yes, I've heard the news. I talk to Annabeth every day. She told me about Percy, the quest, the prophecy, and that the new Great Prophecy has started. I told hers some of my ideas, which she can tell if she wants. I don't mind."

They all looked at her, and she shook her head. "You'll find out later."

"And I left Dad back at camp so I could be here. He thinks I'm at a class reunion."

At that, the group relaxed a little, chuckled at the "class reunion"—they all knew my summer excuse—and we focused back on the campfire, singing and chatting. The next few hours were spent singing ridiculous songs and having a great time. All too soon, it was lights out, and we split for the night, for them to go to their cabin and me to go to camp.

"I'll see you tomorrow around dinner, guys!" I waved. They waved back and I headed into the woods.

When I arrived at the clearing after killing another stupid scorpion, I found dad waiting for me, his head in his hands. I was wary. I thought he'd be asleep by now.

"Why are you still up?" I asked.

He looked up, and his face told me something was wrong. I rushed over, thinking he was hurt.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" I asked hurriedly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked me.

_Uh, oh._"Tell you what?"

"Grace, cut it out. What didn't tell me monsters existed?"

"What did you see? Did you leave the clearing?!"

"I didn't leave the clearing, but a giant scorpion entered it."

I paled, and checked him for injuries. Not seeing any, I prodded him. "What happened?"

"I held still and it went away. But you haven't answered my question. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Athena said you couldn't see through the Mist. You should not have seen the scorpion for what it was." I heard a rustle in the bushes to my left and glanced over. Nothing.

"Athena? The Greek goddess of wisdom? But how can the Greek gods exist when there is only one true God?" Dad was a newer Christian, but a Christian all the same.

"Athena said the simplest way the explain it was that the Ancient Greeks knew there was a deity they needed to worship, but since the Bible had not reached them, they made up their own gods. The Greek gods, created by humans, are human. Our belief in them gives them their "god powers" and keeps them around. Without our belief, they would fade, and they only exist to those who believe, while God—capital G—exists whether you believe in Him or not. Like in Kings, God gave them what they wanted, but the Greek gods are stewards, per say, to the Lord of lords. It boils down to this: the legend has not died, and we have become part of the legend."

"So do the gods still have affairs with mortals?" he asked, and I knew what he meant.

"Yes, and I am one of those kids. Mom is not my biological mother."

"That's impossible. I remember her pregnant and you born."

"I said biological, not birth. She is my birth mother. Athena is my biological mom. She placed me in Mom's womb. I get the blue tint in my eyes from my time in the womb, and probably my need for glasses."

As I finished, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. "Dad! Get behind me! Now!"

**Holy cow. Did everyone go on vacation, or was the chapter that bad? You know I want reviews. If you enjoy the chapter, tell me! If somethings wrong, tell me! (civilly of course. a review saying "this story *** go to ****!" doesn't really do anything good for the story. it just makes me mad.) Please let me know what you think!**


	22. Chapter 22

As I finished, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. "Dad! Get behind me! Now!" My tone of voice made him obey without question. A second later, three hellhounds, two hydra, and a dracaena charged. "The woods are stocked…" I remembered Chiron telling Percy in _The Lightning Thief._

"εξακοντίζομαι!" I said. _Shoot! _I activated my sword and shield, drawing the monsters' full attention.

"Dad," I called as I fought. "I can't fight these alone. Starting at my tent door, go straight. Run as fast as you can until you reach a camp. When you reach camp, yell as loud as you can for help."

"But—"

"Unless you want to watch me die, you need to run!" That got him moving. He took off and I focused on the battle.

I tried to focus enough to change my weapon's form. If I could shoot one second and stab another, I could take several down, but my senses had opened to the monsters surrounding me too much for me to focus on my weapon.

I took out the dracaena first, as it charged without its weapon ready and outside the group. Newbie.

A hellhound charged and I swung, but it jumped out of the way, making me miss it and vice versa.

I turned invisible, surprising them long enough to take out a hellhound, but the other two could smell me. The hydras sprayed poison wherever they thought I was, so I had to move around a lot.

_ I can't go down. I have to hold out!_ was my only thought, over and over. _Have to fight. Have to fight. _I focused on taking out one at a time—and not getting hit by the poison.

Dad later told me what had happened after he left. So instead of telling it as I heard it, I'll tell it here, from his point of view: I took off running the direction Grace yelled, thinking _What were those things? Will she be okay? _and _How far is this camp?_ I eventually came to a clearing filled with cabins, an archery area, and various other things, but I could only go so far into it before I hit something like an invisible beach ball. _What the heck?_ I tried to pound on it, but I couldn't get through, so I yelled and hoped they could hear me.

"Somebody help! HELP! HELP ME!" I was frantic to save my daughter.

Kids streamed from the cabins, all pulling on armor as they ran toward my voice. A thin, blonde haired girl with stormy gray eyes ran to the front.

"What's going on?" she asked hurriedly.

"My daughter's under attack. At our camp in the clearing," I panted.

"Grace?" she replied. I nodded. "Where?"

"Straight that way." I pointed the way I had come, and a bunch of kids, all with honey, blonde hair, took off running. Wow they were fast! Those who didn't go walked to the pavilion. I guess no one wanted to go back to sleep without knowing Grace was ok. From the looks on their faces, it had to be bad if Grace called for help, and they worried.

I turned and followed the detail back to the clearing, running again when I got my breath back.

I arrived to chaos. Around ten of the campers were battling those…monsters, I guess, while the leader ran to Grace, who didn't look so good.

And what was I doing while he so heroically ran for help? I was fighting for my life.

At some point, I had started praying—I wasn't sure to whom—that I would last long enough. There was no way I could take down one hydra by myself, let alone two hydra and two hellhounds at the same time. I had gotten lucky with the dracaena and the first hellhound. Eventually, we fell into a rhythm that no one could break, they couldn't hit me, and I could hit them. Being invisible probably helped my cause.

After what seemed like _forever_—or about ten minutes in demigod speak—I heard cries through the woods. My friends were coming, following the sounds of the battle! Unfortunately, that broke the pattern, and, as I lost focus, a hellhound slammed into me. I cried out in pain as I flew into a tree. I felt my right leg twist a wrong direction and pain flared. I've either broken a bone or stretched a ligament. Let's hope for the latter.

When everyone reached the clearing, they stopped. Apparently, they couldn't figure out the battle since they couldn't see me. So, standing up, I yelled.

"Are you going to stare or are you going to help?"

I could barely stand, but I jumped into the battle as I brushed my necklace, managing to kill a hellhound. As soon as the detail of campers spotted me, they rushed into battle.

The clearing seemed full of people, and with that number of campers, the monsters were defeated in no time. Several campers took care of the remaining hellhound, while even more took on each hydra. Three Annabeths ran to me. Great. I hit my head.

"Are you okay, Grace?"

I couldn't figure out which Annabeth to focus on, but tried to mumble a "Yes." Unfortunately, it came out more as a "Yuh" as the world began to spin. The ground came up to meet me and I blacked out.

**I'm so sorry I'm late. I got my days mixed up, not to mention I was out of town until late.**

**Why did no one tell me I mixed up my chapters? I just realized I posted chapter 20 twice. I have fixed it and I apologize. If I make a mistake, please tell me! **

**I guess that might be why I haven't gotten any reviews, but it would have been nice for someone to tell me. ****I decided a few chapters ago that I would stop updating if I stopped getting reviews, therefore this is my last update until I get a review. Just one. I need to know that someone's still reading this. There is no reason for me to post this if no one's going to read it. So read, review, and double check you reviewed! :)**


	23. Chapter 23

**8-20-13 Ok, apparently this didn't update the first time. Internet issues, sorry!**

I came to still in the clearing, which meant I wasn't out long. Annabeth and several others were bending over me, Annabeth talking.

"…concussion. Take her to the infirmary."

I felt myself lifted in many arms, but, while conscious, I was too out of it to know exactly what was going on. I heard what was going on around me, but couldn't comprehend any of it until later.

"What's going on?! Is she okay?" said a new, older voice. That must have been Dad.

"She'll be fine. She probably just has a concussion. We'll give her some ambrosia back at camp. You can't enter camp, however, so it's best you stay here." I think that was Annabeth.

They carried me back to the Big House. I was vaguely aware of a large group of demigods surrounding us as we entered camp, asking a lot of questions, but I couldn't focus on the replies. I hated this. I wanted to have gotten up as if it was nothing.

Chiron opened the door to the Big House before they could knock and said something as they carried me in. Probably, "What happened?" as I heard Annabeth answer with, "two hellhounds and two hydra." I tried to correct her (I know. Only a daughter of Athena would try to correct someone when they're almost unconscious), but nothing came out.

They lay me on a bed and suddenly I had a straw in my mouth. I gave a small suck and tasted chocolate Italian crème soda, reminding of my time at the Wilds. Nectar. After a couple more sips, I was a little more aware of my surroundings and tried to sit up. My head pounded in protest and multiple hands held me down.

"Lie down, Grace. You have a pretty bad concussion." By the sound of her voice, Annabeth was standing behind my head. I glanced around and saw most of my cabin around my bed. "You had us worried there for a minute," Annabeth continued, "but you weren't out long. By morning, you should be fine. Get some rest. If you need it, you can sip a little more of that nectar." I was getting tired, and her voice began to fade. "Guys, go back to the cabin. Malcolm's in charge. I'll…" and I was out.

I woke up the next morning to see Annabeth asleep with her head on her arms on my bed. I felt better this morning, but my leg and—for some reason—my back were sore. My back was tolerable, so I figured I had just pulled something. My leg, however, was a different matter. Looking down, my lower thigh, knee, and upper calf were swollen and I couldn't move it. Wonderful, I tore a tendon.

I tried to get more comfortable without moving too much and woke Annabeth. She smiled when she saw me looking at her and the look on her face told me she was overjoyed to see me conscious.

"How are you feeling?" she asked me.

"Better than yesterday," my voice was small. "My leg's on fire though. Care to put it out?" I attempted a joke. She looked down and apparently noticed my leg was almost twice its normal size.

"I'll go get an Apollo kid. You might have broken it." She walked out of the room, coming back a few minutes later with Will Solace in tow.

Will examined my leg while Annabeth stood at the foot of the bed. "How did you injure it?" Will asked me.

"One of the hellhounds threw me into a tree. Now was it the second or the third?" I asked myself. Hitting my head had made some of my memories fuzzy.

"Wait a second," Annabeth broke in, "Third? There were only two."

I tried to shake my head, but made myself dizzy. "No there weren't. Three hellhounds, two hydras, and a dracaena attacked me. The dracaena charged alone and I got it immediately. When I turned invisible, that surprised them enough to take out a hellhound. I think I got another hellhound when you guys came, but that was after I hit the tree, and I don't remember exactly."

She nodded. "Yeah, when we got there I saw you slice a hellhound. No wonder you were so banged up. Not even Percy could take on that many alone and stay unhurt before his dip in the Styx."

I remembered something. "Where's my dad? How was able to get into camp to warn you?"

Will answered as he inspected my leg some more. "He can't go through the borders; instead he ran to it and yelled. He's back at your camp right now."

"I sent a messenger when you woke up," Annabeth told me. "He knows you're fine. How did he know about the camp, though? I thought you said he couldn't see through the Mist?"

"I didn't think he could. But over dinner, a scorpion cut across the clearing. Come to think of it, it may have been looking for me. One found me later. Anyway, I ended up telling him everything after I got back. The monsters attacked when I finished explaining."

Annabeth nodded, and Will turned the subject to my injury. "I think you tore one of the tendons in your knee. I can heal it so you can walk, but it'll be sore several days."

Resisting the smart-alec remark I just thought of, I told him, "I expected as much. I'd much rather limp on a sore leg than have to go to the city today in a wheelchair or on crutches." Today was supposed to be the day Dad and I toured the city, and I wasn't going to miss it.

Will looked like he was going to argue about me going to the city, but the determined look on my face and the surrender on Annabeth's quieted him. He grabbed some nectar and tricked it over my knee, then sang a hymn to Apollo. As he finished, he looked pale, but his color came back in a couple minutes. My leg felt much better than it had. I could move, at least, with no more pain than in my back, which I didn't think worth mentioning. Annabeth handed me a small cup of nectar, and said I could get up in ten minutes, provided I sipped that for the duration. They both left.

I sipped the nectar, feeling my back heal from the godly drink. My ADHD kicked in and I wondered how nectar and ambrosia are better than regular food if the gods' powers are simply our beliefs. After about five minutes, I had finished the nectar and was tired of waiting. I sat up slowly. No dizziness. I stood, putting all my weight on my good leg. My back felt fine. I transferred weight to the right. My leg was a little stiff, a little sore, but not bad. I could probably even hide my limp most of the time. I walked outside and walked around camp. I wanted to both work my leg and I had a question for Chiron.

I found him at the archery range. When he saw me, he trotted over. "Glad to see you up and around. You gave us a scare last night. Tell me what happened."

I told him about Dad seeing the scorpion, making me tell the truth, the monsters attacking, and sending Dad for help. When I finished, he nodded.

"You did right," he told me. "Few demigods can take down that many monsters on their own, and even fewer mortals would be able to run for help like he did."

"Speaking of Dad," I started. "I was wondering if I could let him move his tent fully inside camp boundaries and I go to my cabin for tonight." I ticked off my reasons before he could respond. "The monsters will continue to attack in the woods, we're only here one more night, and, since Dad can see through the Mist, I'd like to show him camp. That ok?"

He thought about it before replying. "I guess that would be alright."

"Thanks. Where is he?" I asked.

"That I do not know. We told him to wait at your camp for you, but I imagine he's a bit anxious by now."

"I'd better go find him. We'll set his tent in the clearing behind the dining pavilion, okay?"

He nodded assent and I set off in search of my dad.

I found him twenty minutes later pacing the camp boundaries, trying to find a way in. "Careful," I called out. "If you anger Peleus, you'll end up dead. You're lucky he recognizes you're not a threat."

"Who's Peleus?" he asked, then realized who he was talking to. "Grace! Are you okay? I was so worried!"

"I'm fine, Dad," I assured him. "I tore a tendon in my knee, but Will fixed that up. Son of Apollo," I answered his unspoken question of how. "Peleus is our guard dragon, you'll see him later. For now, are our tents in one piece or did the fight tear them up?"

"They're fine."

"Good. Let's go get them. I have permission for you to enter camp for one night." I started walking to camp, trying to hide my sore leg, with Dad following me, a puzzled expression on his face. Apparently, my short answer didn't satisfy him. Whatever.

We reached the clearing in a few minutes to see all our gear in its proper place. Observing the tracks on the ground, I gathered that the battle had stayed on the side of the clearing opposite of Camp, avoiding the stuff. We put everything in my bag and headed back to Camp.

**Keeping track of days is REALLY hard on vacation. Sorry about that.**

**Thank you to Guest and Calypso Jackson for reviewing! I love when I get reviews!**


	24. Chapter 24

**This is the most recent. sorry for the extreme delay. computer issues last time i tried to update, then I lost track of days-again. Sorry to admit it will only get worse. **

We got to the camp's boundary at the edge of the woods and Dad stopped. I walked another step, crossing the boundary. Dad called out, "I can't get in."

"I know. I have to be inside before I can let you in. I, Grace Noland, grant you, Lee Noland, permission to enter camp until the winter solstice." Dad walked through the boundary, and we continued to the pavilion.

"You'll camp here," I told him when we reached the correct clearing. I took out the tent and started helping him set it up.

"What about you? And why can't I stay in one of the cabins?" he asked, again confused.

"I'll be in my cabin with my siblings. Only the children of the gods may stay in a cabin. Chiron, the activities director—you'll meet him and everyone else at dinner tonight—gave permission for you to camp here tonight. Now watch me set this tent up so you can figure it out next time," I told him with a laugh.

He laughed as well, and ten minutes and a great show of him trying to escape the tent's wrath later, we had a tent set up.

"So can you show me the camp?" he asked. He sounded a little nervous, but whether that was from fear of the unknown, shock that all this was real, or simply disbelieving this other side of me—as a leader. I was pretty quiet outside of camp—I didn't know.

"Sure," I replied. "Follow me."

Starting at the dining pavilion, I explained about the various tables. "Each cabin sits at a certain table. You'll sit at the head table, here, as a guest."

"Why is there no ceiling?"

"It doesn't rain here unless we want it to." I led him to the cabins.

"Odds on the left, evens on the right. One is Zeus, two Hera, then Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, Dionysus, Hades, Iris, Hypnos, Nemesis, Nike, Hebe, Tyche, and Hecate." I pointed to each in turn. "At the beginning of the summer, we only had the first twelve, but then in August, Percy Jackson defeated Kronos after a week-long war. As his reward, he turned down immortality and made the gods promise to claim their children, hence the new cabins."

His jaw had dropped. "So you stay in which one?"

"Cabin six. Athena." I led him to the cabin, opening the door to find a few campers in there during free time. "Hey, everyone. This is my dad, Lee. He'll be staying inside the boundaries for tonight and I'm giving him a tour of camp." They waved and went back to their conversations, while I explained the cabin to Dad. At Annabeth and Malcolm's looks, I left out the secret library.

"The bunks are lined up along the left wall. We use the middle for our desks and individual hobbies. The right wall is our bookshelf."

"And?" he asked as I finished.

"And what?" I pulled off a confused look and the cabin quieted, listening.

"Where's the rest of your library? There is no possible way you only have one shelf of books, especially if everyone here likes to read as much as you do."

I looked to Annabeth for permission. With a surprised look, she assented, and I turned to Dad.

"Like father like daughter. I said the same thing. I'll show it to you if you can find it. You have five minutes, then we need to move on if we're going to finish the tour and still have time to go into the city.

He started exploring the cabin. After a minute, he ignored the cabin as a whole and started going up and down the length of the bookcase. Up and down. Up and down. He had thirty seconds left when he said, "Aha!" The door opened and he grinned at me.

"About time," I told him. "Your five minutes were almost up."

He laughed at me. "And you thought I wouldn't find it?"

"I had my doubts. But you just showed me how you attracted Athena." I walked inside and returned a book to its spot before he could answer.

Walking back out, I said, "Come on. You spent all your time searching. You don't have any time to explore it. I might let you look later." He playfully slouched, as if disappointed, but followed me outside.

I quickly showed him the climbing wall—he was amazed at the lava and dared me to climb it. I told him I'd do it tonight—the canoe lake, the archery range—I shot a bull's eye for him—the arena, the stables, the Big House, and the amphitheater, describing what we do at each. I ended at the top of Half-Blood Hill.

"…and this is called Half-Blood Hill. Yes, that's the real Golden Fleece. Don't go too close or Peleus will eat you."

"Why is it called Half-Blood Hill?" he asked.

"A little over nine years ago, a satyr was sent to get a demigod, a child of the Big Three, and lead her and some others she befriended to camp. Thalia, Annabeth, and Luke made it to right here before they were overwhelmed. Thalia told the others to go on while she held them off. As she died, her father, Zeus, turned her into a tree to save her. Then about three years ago, Percy brought back the Fleece, which purged Thalia from the tree. She's now a part of the Hunters."

"Wow," he replied. "What happened to the other two?"

"Well, Annabeth is the leader of my cabin. She's also a daughter of Athena and we're pretty close. Luke betrayed us to become Kronos' right hand man, but his final decision—to kill himself, thereby sending Kronos back to the pit—saved the world and made him a hero." I stared off into space, remembering Luke and everyone else who had died a few months ago.

He saw the look on my face. "Did you know him?"

I shook my head. "Only if reading about him counts. He turned to Kronos four years ago. I've only known my identity since May."

"Wait. May? If you've been in class, then how did you train so much?"

He didn't get it yet. "Dad," I said softly. "Camp Half-Blood _was_ my class. I've been here all summer."

His jaw fell. "Did you fight in the war?"

"Yes," I whispered.

_Jellybean? Could you and Amber pick us up now? I'm done with his questions. We're on Half-Blood Hill._

_ Give us a second. We're coming._

Dad looked like he was going to continue questioning me, but my Pegasus swooped down a second later.

"Come one, Dad. Let's get to the city. We didn't come to New York to talk." I mounted Jellybean while Dad climbed on Amber.

"Wait," he said as we took off. "These aren't planes."

"I believe the correct name would be pegasi," I said with a wry grin. "Mine is Jellybean. Yours is Amber."

"Ok, spill," he demanded. "What was this class? What did you do this summer? Why did we come here? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Does your mom know? Why do you look so sad about this summer? I want answers."

I took a deep breath. "Camp Half-Blood was my 'class.' I found out I was a demigod the last day of school. This summer, I trained, and we prepared for battle. We fought a war in August." I turned away so he couldn't see the grief on my face. I may not still be in shock, but I was still grieving. "We came because I had news for Annabeth that I had to tell her in person." _Seven half-bloods shall answer the call… _"I didn't tell you sooner because you couldn't see through the Mist. No, mom doesn't know. She has more problems seeing through the Mist than you did. I highly doubt I'll ever tell her. This summer, many of my friends died in the war against Kronos." I fingered my bead from last summer. "Now we're almost to town. I might guide you around if you _stop_ with the questions."

He fell silent—finally—and I was left with my thoughts as we flew into Manhattan.

The pegasi left us outside the Empire State Building.

I was gazing at the lobby doors, remembering, when Dad walked up to me. Tapping my shoulder, he brought me back to the present by asking, "Are we going to walk around the city or stare into space?"

Shaking my head, I told him, "Sorry. Thinking about the battle," and started leading him around.

That day was both the most fun and the hardest day since August. Everywhere I looked, I mentally saw my friends battling monsters and enemy half-bloods. At Grand Central Station, I saw a statue beating up monsters. In Central Park, I saw Percy fighting Hyperion. Whenever we turned north, I thought of Andy and Chris fighting the army in Harlem. When we went to the top of the Empire State Building after lunch, I gazed even further up, catching a small glimpse of Olympus, and remembered Luke.

Even though I saw war everywhere, I also had fun. This was the first time Dad had been to NYC, and he wanted to see anything and everything. He's usually calm as a cucumber, but now he was moving faster than Travis and Connor Stoll on a sugar high. I think we jogged practically the length of Manhattan, but I didn't care. My demigod stamina let me keep up just fine.

By four in the afternoon, we had traversed the island of Manhattan and probably set a record on number of tourist miles run.

"You ready for dinner?" I asked.

"Yeah," he told me. "I've seen everything I wanted to. You?"

_I saw everything last August. _"Yup. Give me a second, and I'll call Jellybean." I closed my eyes and called to my Pegasus. Five minutes later, we met them in an alley.

_Have fun?_ Jellybean asked me.

_ It was okay. This was the first time since the battle that I've been there, and I saw the battle everywhere. A lot of memories._

_I can imagine. The first time I went to the city after the battle, I felt the same way. I think everybody did._

I didn't answer, and the ride continued in silence.

We landed in the center of the cabins twenty minutes before dinner. I told dad I was headed to my cabin. "You can explore if you want, but don't draw attention and do _not_ enter any of the cabins. You might be able to watch someone practice in the arena, but I doubt it since most spend free time in their cabin. When the conch blows, go to the dining pavilion. I'll introduce you to camp and you'll meet Chiron then."

I left him standing there as I left for cabin six. I sensed him following me, and, wanting some free time, turned invisible. I glanced back in time to smirk at his expression before heading to my cabin.

The entire cabin was gathered as I entered invisibly. They stopped talking, probably wondering what made the door open. I closed the door and turned visible. They continued to stare.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Malcolm answered. "Since when can you turn invisible?"

I stared at him, dumbfounded. I thought he had noticed by now. "Since before the Wilds last June."

"_What?!"_

"Yeah. How could you not have notice that?" I looked around. "Was Annabeth the only one that knew?"

They looked at her, and she raised her hands defensively. "I didn't know until last night. Grace, how did you turn invisible?"

"My necklace," I told her. "The morning I left for the Wilds last June, I found a birthday note from Athena. She said she had modified my necklace to work like your hat."

She nodded, obviously thinking. Then a light bulb came on above her head. "That's why we couldn't find you immediately in the woods!"

I nodded. "Yup. I turned invisible to last long enough for you to find me. Unfortunately, the hellhounds could smell me."

After a moment of silence, I changed the subject. "So what happened today? Any news on the quest?"

"None," Annabeth answered. "The deadline is in two days, but we haven't heard anything." I had expected that. Campers rarely called camp on a quest. They were in danger constantly and usually had no time to call. The conch blew.

"Get in line!" Annabeth called.

We lined up and went to dinner. I spotted dad off to the side looking like he didn't know what to do, so, with a nod from Annabeth, I headed over.

"Come on, Dad. I'll introduce you then show you where to sit." Once everyone else was at their place, I walked in with Dad striding behind me.

We were immediately the center of attention. Well, to everyone but one table in the back. "Guys, this is my dad, Lee." Dad was looking at the head table, where Chiron stood in centaur form, with his jaw dropped—again. I laughed at him and I heard a few chuckles from the campers. "Dad, pick up your jaw. You know what a centaur is." His jaw closed with an audible click.

"You'll sit with Chiron over there at the head table. Be polite for a change," I teased. He laughed at me and went to Chiron's table. I went back to my own and squeezed into my seat.

I glanced over a few times during the meal, each time finding him conversing with Chiron, so I relaxed and had fun. I would be leaving in the morning and I wanted to spend time with my friends. We never know how much time we have left.

After dinner was capture the flag, which I thought was weird. It wasn't Friday, and the Hunters weren't here…

I glanced at the Artemis table and my face lit up. Annabeth noticed.

"They showed up a few minutes before breakfast. With Olympus closed and Artemis gone, Thalia's the leader. She decided to spend one day at camp, then they're going to Colorado to follow a lead on Percy." I resolved to catch Thalia at some point before I left.

"Does she know I'm here?" I asked.

Annabeth shook her head. "I don't think so. We haven't had a chance to catch up yet. I didn't have enough time before dinner. Also, the Hunters never pay attention to announcements, so she probably didn't even look up to see you introduce your dad." So that was the noisy table.

"Betcha we can beat 'em." I grinned wryly.

She looked at me weird. "And how would that be? They've only won sixty times in a row."

"Time to break that streak. Have you ever thought about…" I explained my plan to Annabeth, and the rest of the table who were obviously eavesdropping.

After dinner, we had twenty minutes to prepare for the game. My cabin was running around frantically trying to set everything up. So much so, that dad pulled me aside about five minutes in.

"What is going on?"

I was so excited I almost couldn't speak. "The Hunters are here, which means we play Capture the Flag. They've won sixty times in a row, but I had an idea to beat them. We're setting it up now," I said all in one breath. I ran off to help while dad shook his head at me.

When the conch blew to start the game, we had everything set and the entire camp was in on it. Chiron only knew what equipment we needed. He didn't know what we were going to do with it.

Campers scattered, playing normally. Then, ten minutes after the start—when we estimated the Hunters got the upper hand—the woods came alive. The battle music from the Battle of Aslan's How from _Prince Caspian: the movie_ blasted from all around.

When the music began, all the Hunters froze, wondering what the heck that noise was—only some of them didn't use heck. While they floundered, searching for the music's source, we took some of them out of the game.

I was battling Thalia when the music had started. She had found me early and challenged me, claiming she needed an easy win. Although I didn't see her much, we enjoyed teasing each other. We were sparring, and she was beginning to win, when it started. Her jaw dropped, and I smirked.

"I think it's the campers turn to win," I told her, then hit her with the flat of my blade. She went down, stunned, and I went after the flag.

A minute into the song, the Hunters were getting over their shock, but they had never battled to the beat of music, and we hand the upper hand.

The music reached a quiet spot, and everyone froze, like a movie. Then the fastest part of the song began, and the campers ran and battled to the beat, taking down Hunters left and right. Five minutes into the song, I was at the boundary line. I knew someone would come through here with the flag any minute while being chased by Hunters.

I heard shouts through the woods. _Here they come._ Malcolm came sprinting through the woods, six Hunters hot on his tail.

"Malcolm! Throw it!"

"Go long!" The flag sailed through the air. _Wow, he really meant go long._ I backed up twenty feet and grabbed the flag from the air.

"Camper win!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Chiron appeared to my left with a strange look on his face. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"That's one way to do it," was all he said before beginning to round up the wounded.

Dad came up to me during the celebration. "Was the music your idea?" He had watched the game from a clearing in the center of the woods. I nodded. "Nice," he smiled and wandered off to observe from the back. I focused on the celebration.

That night, just before lights out, I made sure dad had everything at the tent, then headed to my cabin. I crossed paths with Chiron on the way there.

"Oh. Before I forget," I pulled the plates and cups from my bag. "Here are those dishes you lent us."

He smiled and asked, "Whose idea was the music? I know it had to come from your cabin."

"My idea. Got it because I'm addicted to music and I recently watched Narnia. I knew we could beat them with the element of surprise."

"Well, no matter how you did it, great job. This broke their sixty-game winning streak."

I grinned widely, and he trotted off to the Big House as I turned to go into my cabin. Half-way there, I heard a cabin full of blood-curdling screams. I rolled my eyes, waved off the camper headed this way, and jogged into the cabin.

I found all my siblings tightly bunched in a corner. As the door opened, they turned to me with wide eyes.

"Grace," Malcolm called out. "You probably don't want to be in here right now."

I chuckled. "Where's the spider?"

Fifteen hands pointed next to my bed. I walked over, found the one-inch spider, and squished it. The group in the corner relaxed on floor in a tangled of arms and legs. They stared at me, stunned.

"What?" I asked.

"You might be the only child of Athena not deathly afraid of spiders."

I rolled my eyes again. "I hate the creepy little things, but screaming in a corner won't kill them. And they don't run from noise."

Right then, my dad banged open the door. _Wonderful._ "What was that scream?"

"Dad," I replied calmly. "One, I told you to never enter a cabin without being invited. Gods don't like non-demigods in their cabins. Two, this is the Athena cabin. Ever heard of arachnophobia? Almost every child of Athena has it because of the Arachne episode. And three, pick your jaw up."

His jaw closed and he laughed. "Wow, even your birth mom isn't _that_ afraid of spiders. I thought someone was hurt."

"We're fine, Dad. Go back to your tent." He left and we all got ready for bed, with me silently laughing until I fell asleep.

**Again, I'm late b/c it's extremely hard to keep my days straight on vacation. To make up for the longer-than-usual wait, this was and extra long chapter. 3400 words!**

**B/c of the computer issues, I had no reviews on ch 23 to reply to, so make my email explode! :D**

**Lastly, just a forewarning. College starts for me in a week, which means that I will fall of the map for weeks at a time. I apologize in advance for the lack of chapters.**


	25. Chapter 25

The next day was the twentieth—the day I leave and they day before the quest's deadline. I got up with everyone else, sending a signal to my tent to wake dad up. (My tent had an alarm clock/wake-up call feature. Cool, huh?) I finished getting ready, gathered my stuff, and told everyone goodbye, saving Annabeth for last again.

As I walked toward her to hug her goodbye, I studied my sister. She still had her worry for Percy written across her face, but despair wasn't coupled with the worry. Today she had semi-gotten into her routine again and I only saw her sneak off once to cry. She seemed to be pushing through.

I pulled her into a hug, then looked her in the eye. "You hold yourself together, got it? Tomorrow you will have news of the quest and we will know how to continue, but for now keep yourself together." She nodded and I gave her another hug.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and glanced over to see Malcolm next to me. Somehow, he and I had grown closer. He wasn't mentioned much in the books, so I didn't know what to expect from him, but I did know he was kind. Over the summer, he and I had truly become siblings.

"Don't worry, Grace. We'll keep her going." He gave her a hard look, but had a slight tease underneath. Not enough to make me think he wouldn't follow through, but enough for her to not get mad.

I smiled. "I know you will. I want to hear from one of you each day. Keep me up to date, got it?" They nodded. "Good. Now, it's time for me to go." I gave them both another hug, waved to the rest of the cabin, and left to find Dad.

I found him with the tent almost taken down. I laughed. He didn't know the shortcut.

"What's so funny, Grace?"

"You." I walked up and pushed the small button on the back of the tent. It compacted to the size of a pack of gum and his jaw dropped.

He shook his head. "I should start getting used to this, but how did you do that? It didn't look like that earlier."

"This is a Hunter's tent, courtesy of my Artemis blessing. All of them do that. Helps in the wild when you're under attack. And it did look like that in the clearing. The small amount of Mist surrounding you then disguised it. You ready?" He nodded and followed me to the stables.

We landed in Colorado at three that afternoon. We had three days to get ready for Christmas Eve, so we had to get to work as soon as we unpacked. Dad started putting together the fifteen-person table while I started cleaning the house and getting the dishes from the cabinet.

The next day we were on schedule and I shut myself in the bathroom to send an IM. I wasn't really paying attention to the time, and my call showed Annabeth and everyone else at dinner. I was about to call out to my sister when three people appeared on the Aphrodite table. A blonde-haired regal boy, a Latino elf, and a pretty girl all looked a little stunned and a little sick. Immediately, the elf ran to a brazier and threw up. These must be the questers and what or whoever brought them back must have churned their stomachs.

"We're back," the pretty girl—Piper—said casually. The look on Drew's face was hilarious!

That was the longest IM I will ever make. Before they started explaining, I checked that I had enough drachmas to talk for a while. I did, and the group told their quest.

Five minutes in, I had just thrown another drachma in when I heard dad outside the door. I could sense he was about to knock, so I quickly opened the door and held my finger to my lips. Shock registered on his face.

"What's going on," he whispered.

I made a quick decision and waved him in. I waved my hand over my mouth in a gesture that clearly meant _Do not talk!_ He nodded and I went back to listening.

The three teens alternated telling the story, filling in when they were alone or the other was unconscious. About thirty or forty-five minutes later, the questions and storytelling finally stopped and I cut off the message as everyone scattered.

I turned to Dad. "Ask your questions, then we need to get back to work."

"What was that?!" were the first words out of his mouth.

"That was an Iris Message. It's how demigods communicate since most cannot use phones. Phones attract monsters."

"How did that work?"

"I made mist using that mister I bought at the dollar store yesterday, then I just threw a drachma in." I showed him the coin. "Iris is the goddess of the rainbow and she carried the message after I told her who to contact. It was purely accident I caught them returning."

"How can you treat this as normal? Nothing in their story shocked you."

I looked at him weird. "That quest was one of the milder ones. Percy's quests were ten times worse than that and the war last summer was twenty times worse." That jolted him. "Now," I continued before he could say anything, "we need to get back to work. Knowing my sister, she'll be calling me in about three minutes."

He went to finish the table and I started vacuuming. Just as I expected, a call came in a few minutes later, making the air shimmer. Annabeth appeared in the Mist.

"Hey, Grace. The quest just got back."

"I know," I told her. "I tried to IM you and saw them appear. Kept the call going long enough to hear their story."

She looked at me in surprise. "Well then. I guess you don't need an update do you?"

I laughed. "It's good to hear your sarcasm again. And, no, I probably don't need an update unless Chiron has announced something in the last few minutes."

"Ok, then. Different topic. What _are_ you doing? I though you hated cleaning."

I smirked. "I do. But my family is coming in on Christmas Eve and we have to get everything ready."

"Have fun cleaning! I'll be sparring," she teased. She knows how much time I spend in the arena.

"Actually, I am having fun. I'm looking forward to seeing my family again. I haven't seen any of them since last Christmas." _I just wish my aunt would be here,_ I added silently. Last October, my Aunt Dawn had filed for divorce and headed for Texas with no warning. I missed her more that I could put into words and I worried for her. I had tried every day since to reach her, but she accepted no calls and was never online.

"That's awesome." She's thinking of her rocky relationship with her father.

"I can tell what you're thinking. My family isn't perfect. Far from it. My mom's side is full of jerks. I hate having to go see them. My dad's family is awesome. Maybe sometime you can meet them."

She smiled. "I would like that. I need to go to bed, though. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Night, Annabeth." She cut the connection and I went back to vacuuming.

**Woohoo! I managed to keep my days straight!**

**I didn't get any reviews for the last two chapters. Come on guys! Even one makes my day! Click that button! :)**

**R & R!**


	26. Chapter 26

The next day, I further developed my timing skills when I managed to eavesdrop on the council meeting.

We had cleaned all day—I had forgotten how much cleaning we do while getting ready—and were taking a break for an early dinner. I decided to IM camp while the meal cooked, so I went to the back room with my mister.

"Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Annabeth Chase, Camp Half-Blood." A second later, I was a silent bystander to the council meeting. Through the mist, I could see Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Clarisse, and many other cabin leaders standing and sitting around the Ping-Pong table in the Big House rec-room. I had caught the tail end of Jason was telling everyone about their quest again.

"So Hera was _here,_" Annabeth asked when he finished. "Talking to you."

Jason nodded. "Look, I'm not saying I trust her—"

"That's smart," Annabeth interrupted.

"—but she isn't making this up about another group of demigods. That's where I came from."

They went on to discuss the Romans and their forms of the gods. Then Annabeth brought up the war last summer.

"…Didn't they want to help?"

Well, according to Chiron, they _did_ help. The Romans invaded Mount Othrys, with Jason leading the battle. Apparently, their camp is in San Francisco somewhere. However, "we could search for years and never find it." Jason is getting his memory back.

They make the plan. The camp will build "Leo's ship, the _Argo II,_" and sail for the Roman camp. Annabeth figures out the Doors of Death have been opened and tells Jason she wants to go with them. I suddenly understand why, and after a bit of explanation, Jason comes out and confirms what I'm thinking.

"Percy Jackson is at the other camp, and he probably doesn't even remember who he is."

Even though I figured it out, I'm so stunned I don't hear the voice telling me to deposit another drachma, and the message cuts out a second after he says that. _Percy is at the other camp…doesn't remember who he is,_ runs through my head over and over. Annabeth must be scared out of her mind. I wasn't worried for Percy, now that I knew his approximate location. He clearly could take care of himself. I was worried for Annabeth. If Percy doesn't remember her, she might just fall apart. Unfortunately, to everyone else, I didn't know about the council, which meant I couldn't comfort Annabeth using my knowledge. The only thing I could do was wait for her to tell me what was going on. I walked back into the kitchen as Dad finished cooking.

He noticed the stunned look on my face. "Everything ok?"

I wiped the stunned look from my face, then put on a small smile. "Yeah, everything's fine. Is that spaghetti I smell?" Spaghetti was my favorite meal.

"Yeah. Figured after all that cleaning today, we deserved some carbs."

"Awesome."

The next two days went slowly, mostly because I hated cleaning. Finally, I woke up on December 24, the day almost all my family would be there.

I quickly showered, dressed, and walked into the downstairs living room to find Dad setting the table. People would be showing up any minute, and I was excited and scared at the same time, but I knew the one person that wouldn't show up would be the one I noticed the most—Dawn. I still hadn't heard anything from her, and I worried.

I helped finish setting the table, then, since I had nothing else to do, positioned myself on the front windowsill. I had sat here waiting for people to pull up for as long as I could remember. People started arriving soon after, and we had a busy house. Uncle Roger, his wife, Ellen, and their three kids, Dan, Shawn, and Laura, came from Pueblo. Dennis, Sally, their kids Jess, Jaymie, and Jacklyn and Uncle Cameron with Jen, Jarod, Melissa, and Rachael arrived from Colorado Springs. When Cameron walked up, I almost looked for Dawn, but then remembered she wouldn't be here. I gave everyone a hug and we spent the day chatting, eating, and ignoring the elephant in the room my aunt's absence caused. Overall, it was a great day. I didn't understand how everyone could act so normal when there was a family member missing, but I wasn't about to bring up the one person on my mind. That would risk everyone leaving early. So I shut my mouth and listened to the chatter of those around me.

About six hours after everyone arrived we had an empty house. Everybody left to start that long drive back home and we were left with a quiet house and a messy counter. It was worth it to see (almost) everyone again. I still missed my aunt, but I didn't let myself dwell on that. She would message when she was ready, and I would be here when she did.

The rest of my break went relatively slowly. We cleaned up the house, had a quiet Christmas day with Kelly, my dad's girlfriend, got out to do _something_ each day, and I talked to Annabeth every day. Those conversations were mostly I encourage her and she updates me on the ship kind of things.

My trip ended on December 30, when I packed my bag for Tennessee. I had already told Jellybean what day and time to pick me up, so I hugged Dad goodbye at ten—I knew the mist would cover my daylight takeoff—and looked back until the house was out of sight.

_What's wrong?_ Jellybean startled me out of my thoughts a few minutes later.

_Nothing_, I bluffed.

_Sure… Come on. Tell me what's wrong. You usually talk to me by now._

I sigh. _I'm worried about my aunt._

_ What's up with your aunt? You haven't mentioned her._

_ In October, I got word that she had packed her bags, filed for divorce, and left. No warning. Just gone. Because of child locator on her phone, we know she's somewhere in Texas, but no one's heard from her since. Her phone's off. She's never online. I'm worried about her. Having Christmas with everyone on the twenty-fourth just brought everything back, the hurt, the pain, the anger, the confusion. I'm extremely protective of my family, and not knowing where one member is or how they are is really, really hard. For all I or anyone else knows, she got in a wreck on the way to Texas and has been dead for two months._

_ Wow. That's rough. Have you tried IMing her?_

_ I thought about it, but she's not a demigod, and I don't know if she would be able to see it. It seems like a lot of people in my family and most of my friends can see through the Mist._

_ If she doesn't message back in a few more days, try it. It's very rare for two people from the same family to see clearly, so she'd probably just see it as a laptop set on video chat._

I was doubtful. _I'll give it a shot, maybe._ We lapsed into silence.

That afternoon, we landed at the empty property next to my Tennessee house.

_Thanks for the ride, Jellybean._

_ Anytime. And don't forget what I said about your aunt. If you're that close to her, IM her. You can do damage control later._

_ I'll think on it. Catch you later, Jellybean._

My Pegasus flew away and I walked down my driveway.

"Mom, I'm home!"

"Hey, honey!" She hugged me. "How was Colorado?" She talked to me almost every day. She _knew_ how Colorado was, well, except some details, like camp, yet she still asked. I'll never understand her.

"It was great! I had a lot of fun. Wish school didn't start in a couple days though."

"I know. Now go unpack. I almost have some dinner ready." Amazing. She decided to cook today. Please note the sarcasm. My mom _never_ cooks. She must be in a good mood today.

Unpacking didn't take any longer than packing did. I took out my clothes and a few books, to keep up appearances. My Hunter's bag had become my life bag. I carried everything I deemed important in it. At school, I had my school stuff plus my clothes, books, and demigod supplies, like ambrosia. I had everything with me, just in case of emergency.

**Hello my readers! This will be the last semi-regular update. College starts here tomorrow and I have 14 credit hours. I apologize in advance for the lack of updates, but please stick with me! I promise I'll update when I get the chance!**

**Thank you to Caly, and Guest for updating!**


	27. Chapter 27

We spent New Year's Eve at home with me watching tv for the ball drop and mom dozing in the chair. School started the second, but the important thing (in my mind) happened the seventeenth.

I was surfing the web, finished with my dual credit homework, and thinking about Dawn. I hadn't tried to IM her, and I was wondering if she would ever message. I missed her. Last October, when she left, I had immediately sent her a Facebook message saying "3 you. I don't understand but I'm here for you. You know how to get ahold of me if you want a prayer partner, an ear, or just need someone to chat with. I love you, and I hope I get to see you again." She had yet to reply. That day, I had left my account open while surfing elsewhere, like I usually do when I'm online, when my computer chimed that I had a new Facebook message. I clicked over to that window and about fell out of my chair.

I read, "Dawn has sent you a new message. Click to read." I clicked the link and saw, "You will see me again soon, and don't worry about me. Thank you for caring. I am so grateful. Things aren't going real well right now, but I am in good Hands. I love you."

My aunt was alive! And she was messaging me! Finally!

I quickly typed out my reply. "You're alive! I can't tell you how happy I am to see this message come up. Where are you? Do you need help? I know you are in good Hands. You left several in shock, though. Just up and leave? I went through this less than a year ago. I didn't think I would go through it again, especially so soon. You know I want details but I know you probably don't want to give them. Love you SO much. I'll be watching for your message 3."

It took her two days to reply. I could think of nothing else those two days. I managed to hold a conversation with Annabeth during her daily updates, but that was all I managed to do. Dawn was ok! Every evening I logged on as fast as I could to see her message. It finally popped up. "Sweet girl, my marriage failed several years ago. God is so good to me to let me hang on through raising two families, and now I can leave. Cameron has asked me for a divorce repeatedly over the years, but five times since April. I know this is a shock for you and seems sudden, but I have expected this for a long time. I am in TX, I have a job, and I'm with very good people. I will start classes at TX Christian either in the fall or mid-term depending on when I can get my act together. Those who I left in shock at home will recover, and they will have to admit that this was not unexpected. Please keep praying for me."

Of course I'm praying for her! Not much else had been on my mind since she left. I was surprised Annabeth hadn't noticed my worry as I had talked to her each week. I replied, "Of course I'm praying for you! But Texas? Why so far? Why so far from your family? Why did you stay gone for the holidays? I thought you were dead! I love you. And I hope you don't just disappear into a memory. I've had too many people just disappear. I've lost too many friends and family. I don't want to lose you too."

The next day, I had a new message. "I will never disappear from your life. What would make you think I was dead? I needed to get away and we are going to leave it at that. I will try to help you understand when we talk. I have been 19 years out of the workforce and am basically unemployable, which has been a very frightening thought to me knowing that my marriage was ending. I found a job that will meet my needs, and give me the opportunity to get some schooling. I will be starting classes in the fall, hopefully, and if not then it will be at semester. I will eventually be back for family functions. I am not divorcing my family. You will never lose me. I love you so much, but there is just no one in my family who could help me with this. You can reach me on my email, on Facebook, and we can call if you give me time to get to where I have reception. I am a little weepy, having trouble eating, and there is a climate change here that is making it hard for me at the moment. I'm not telling you that so you feel sorry for me. I just want you to know that I will be stronger soon and able to deal with other people's emotions better than I can right now. I love you, Grace. Leave me your phone number here and I'll contact you when I turn my phone back on. I think I may have it, but I'll make sure this way. Talk to you soon, Dawn."

I was beside myself. How could she just up and move? It had been almost three months with no word. I was ready to put her down as dead and try to move on. I loved her so much. I typed back, "I love you too. More than I can put into words. My number in 615-867-5309. As for your question, think about it. I've lost family before, I've heard nothing from you for two months after you spontaneously up and leave, and nobody in the family knows where you are. This family is so close, I thought _somebody_ would know where you were, but no one did. I thought my aunt was dead. For all I knew, you had wrecked an hour's drive from home and the cops just didn't know who to call. I can't put into words how happy I am to see your messages. I love you so, so much and I'll wait for your call." By the time I clicked send, I was crying.

She never replied to that and it was the middle of February before I saw her online again. I sent a heart and a "how are you?" and she replied. We talked for about thirty minutes, and it was mostly question and answer. I ask a question, and she would answer. I could tell she was editing a lot, but I was so happy she was talking to me that I didn't care. That day, I found out that Cameron had never physically hurt her, but had verbally abused her for years. She was so gentle. How had she retained that gentleness through that much abuse while I had lost my gentleness in a much shorter time? Within a couple months, we were talking everyday about anything, except my second life. I kept that hidden until the beginning of May, when I made my first mistake.

**Woohoo! 3 day weekend! hope you like the chapter! i'll try to post at least once more this wknd.**

**No reviews last chapter to reply to.**

**R, guest who reviewed chapter 3 a few min ago: when you read further, you'll see she has a few, albeit she hasn't though much of her fatal flaw, one of them being loyalty, another flaw being doubt. she doubts herself too much. it's good to be humble, it's not good to doubt yourself**


	28. Chapter 28

Back in about March, we had adopted a "fully honest about everything" policy. If one asked the other how they were doing, a better answer than "good, you?" was expected. That's what caused my mistake. She and I were talking about how alike we were and I commented, "Are we sure I'm not yours? Lol. Direct line doesn't matter. I have three moms." Totally unlike a daughter of Athena, I didn't think it through. Truthfully, I have Mom (Marie), Athena, and I was close enough to Dawn that I thought of her as a third mom, but that wouldn't make much sense to her.

Immediately, a reply came back. "Three? Who's the third?"

I fumbled a second, then only told part of the truth. I felt horrible, but I also didn't have much choice. "I recently found out that, while mom is my birth mother, she's not my biological mom. I've only seen my biological mom once, but I'm close to several of my half-siblings. My biological mom also sent me a present for my last birthday." I was thankful the internet covered up my stumbling, and created a false confidence. As long as I wrote without grammatical hesitations, it was read without hesitations.

"Hmm. Interesting. In vitro fertilization?"

"That's one way to put it."

She didn't push the subject, and the conversation turned to school.

Unfortunately, three weeks later, and three days before I left for the Wilds, my summer camp, the subject came up again.

"School will be ending soon. Any plans?" she typed.

"Lots. I'm going to the Wilds in three days, then to another camp from there."

"You've told me about the Wilds, but never about this other camp. What's it like there?"

As I read that—and fumbled for how to answer—I got a semi-lucky break. I spotted a hellhound outside my window.

"Crud. I'm gonna have to get back to you on that description. Something just came up. I'll be back in a few. 3 you!"

I could almost see her confusion through the computer, but, a second later, her message came up. "Ok. See you later."

After killing the hellhound, which didn't take long with my arrows, I grabbed my mister and went to my room. Creating a rainbow, I tossed in a drachma.

"Iris, show me Lou Ellen, Hecate cabin counselor." I had some questions about the Mist and I figured the goddess of magic was the way to go.

A second later, I was looking inside the Hecate cabin at camp.

"Hey, Grace. What's up?" She knew I had a question. I never contacted Hecate otherwise.

"My aunt is asking tough questions. What are the chances that two members of the same family can see through the Mist?"

"For their whole life? Impossible. However, in your circumstances, it is possible. Your dad couldn't see clearly until recently. It is entirely possible your aunt could either gain the sight or have had it her whole life."

I nodded, thinking. "Know any good ways to test without giving anything away?"

She shook her head. "You'll have to ask Annabeth for that. I know magic, not tactics."

"Ok. Thanks for the info."

"No problem." She cut the connection and I tossed another drachma in.

"Annabeth Chase. Camp Half-Blood."

I saw Bunker 9, the _Argo II_ standing mostly finished in the background. Campers were running everywhere trying to fix one part or build another of the ship.

"Hey, Annabeth!" I called over the noise. She turned.

"What's up, Grace?" We usually talked later in the day, but the next time I got online, I would have to answer Dawn.

"Family issue. My aunt's getting really close to the truth about me. I'm closer to her than my mom, and have no problem telling her the truth, but I want to make sure she can already see clearly before I tell her. Do you know a way I can test that without giving anything away?"

She thought a second. "Ask her what happened last August. If she can see, she'll know something about Typhon."

I considered that. "That might do it. Thanks. Now, any updates on Percy and how's the ship going?"

"Nothing new on Percy." She hesitated, probably thinking about his probable amnesia. "And the ship is fine. We've had a few problems, but, barring a major failure, we're set to leave on the summer solstice."

I nodded, then decided to just say it. "Awesome. And don't worry about Percy. Not even Hera could make him forget you. He'll be there when you land."

"I hope so," she murmured. "Wait, how did you know about his memory?"

I shrugged, not wanting to tell her the truth. "I have my ways. I have to go. If something new comes up, tell me. Otherwise, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Take care, Grace."

"You too." I waved my hand, clearing the mist, and walked back to my computer.

"You still on?"

"Yup. Everything ok?" Dawn replied quickly.

"Now it is. As for a description of my other camp, we have a weird rule for telling others about it. For me to be allowed to tell you about it, I have to ask you a few questions. That ok?"

"I don't want to get you in trouble," was the response.

"You won't. I just have to follow this stupid rule." The complaint was obviously there to make her think this wasn't me asking.

"Ok. What do you have to ask?"

"First, what "natural disaster" happened last summer?"

"That storm? That was part of the reason I moved to where I did. Everyone else said it was just a bad storm, but I didn't think so. Some of those clouds looked like body parts! When I decided to leave, I chose an area the "storm" had missed." And that solved the clear-sighted question.

"Have you seen anything else weird that no one else noticed?"

"Always. Since I was young, I've seen things. I stopped telling others when I realized no one else could see them."

"Well, that tells me the level of description I can give you." I added a smiley. "I've gathered you don't want anyone knowing where you are exactly. You have five minutes to get rid of everything near you that could give away your location before I video call you to explain everything…the demigod way."

"Whaaa?" was the reply. Now I had her confused. Good. Made it easier to explain everything.

"Four minutes, thirty seconds." No reply. I set my timer and went to my room, locking the door. Couldn't let mom see an IM. When the five minutes were up, I formed a rainbow.

**And here's the update I promised today. Due to class, my next one will probably be next weekend (if i don't have too much hmwk). Thank you to Calypso for the review, you made me smile, and hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	29. Chapter 29

"Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Dawn Noland, Texas." Through the mist, I saw an open, but sparsely decorated room. The walls were white, there were some chairs scattered around and a few pictures hung on the wall. I could see my aunt sitting at her desk, typing into her chat, probably trying to ask me something.

"Nice place," I said casually. She looked around, trying to find me. She was unafraid, but nervous, which was understandable. She didn't know what to expect. "Over here. Your left." She turned and caught sight of the message. I waved. "I did warn you I would video call."

She half-smiled. She was quiet, like me, but was slowly returning to the bubbly aunt I once had. Maybe our conversations had something to do with that. "How did you do that?" she asked.

"Do what? This message? It's called an IM, or Iris Message. Ever heard of Greek mythology?" She nodded. "To put it bluntly, it's real. The Ancient Greeks knew there was a higher deity, but the Bible hadn't reached them. So, they created their own. The gods are immortal humans, with all the faults we have. Our belief in them keeps them around. The legend never died, and neither did the gods. Remember a few weeks ago when I slipped and said third mom?" She didn't reply, still in shock. "Athena is my biological mother, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. I am a demigod—half god, half human."

"And what does this have to do with me? Or your camp?"

"You are what we call a clear-sighted mortal. You can see through the Mist, the magical veil that distorts human vision. You saw Typhon last summer clearer than any other human did. My camp is where demigods go to train. We have a cabin for each god or goddess that has children, as well as an arena and other places to train."

"What happens at camp?"

"Normally? I don't know. I've only been there one summer." I pulled out my bead. "Last summer we prepared for, fought, and won a war. This summer it appears we may have a repeat performance."

She had paled some. She was strong, but to hear me refer to a war to casually probably startled her. "A war? Against whom? And if you won last year, why would you have to fight again?"

"Last year the Time lord, Kronos, tried to make a comeback. We sent him back to Tartarus after a week-long war. This summer, the earth-goddess Gaea thinks it's her turn. Our leader went missing in December. We're trying to ally with the Roman camp to battle the earth goddess, but whether that works or not, there will be more war this summer. The next Great Prophecy is about to take place."

I tossed in another drachma to continue the call as she replied, "How do you fight?"

I bit back the sarcastic "very carefully" and answered with, "My sword, bow and arrows, and my gift."

"Can I see any of those?" she asked in her soft voice.

My bow appeared in my hand, and an arrow appeared when I mimed aiming. "Gift from Artemis. I am the daughter of Athena and the only non-Hunter blessed by Artemis."

"Nice. Are you any good?"

I aimed at a dartboard, and fired, hitting the bulls eye from the other side of the room. "I'd say I'm pretty good," I said with a grin.

"Nice shot," she told me.

I grinned and dropped my bow, then brought out my coin.

"What's that?" she asked.

"This would be my sword." I enjoyed the puzzled look on her face for a second before I squeezed it. The look on her face was a mixture of shock and awe.

"Cool!" Maybe she does have some joy in her. I haven't seen a smile that size on her face in years.

"And this is part of my gift." I concentrated and my sword changed to a pistol, rifle, mace, club, and back to a sword. "My blessing from Artemis lets me change my weapon's form."

"Handy."

"You bet." I stuck my coin in my pocket. "And here's my shield." I pressed the stone on my ring, and I had a shield on my arm. I showed her the design on the front as I thought about Beckendorf.

She read the look on my face. "Who made this for you?"

"Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus."

"He did a good job."

"Yes. Yes, he did," I said quietly.

She studied me. "What happened to him?"

"Died in the war last summer."

"I'm sorry."

I shrugged. "You didn't kill him."

"So what made you decide to tell me?" she changed the subject.

"I trust you. And I had already given a little away when I said three moms instead of two. I had to ask you those question to make sure you were clear-sighted. No matter how much I trust you, I couldn't tell you the full truth if you couldn't already see it." As I spoke, her face had changed. I think the look was mostly surprise with some gratefulness mixed it.

"Grace, you know most of what has happened. I feel like such a throwaway. It's good to hear that someone still loves and trust me."

"Dawn, you are not a throwaway. You are not a throwaway. You are not a throwaway. I'll keep saying it until you know. You are not a throwaway. I love you more than words can say, and so does the rest of the family. I understand you feel alone, but that's what going incognito for three months does to you," I said fervently. "How many messages did you get after you left?"

"Not including you? About 5."

"I expected as much. This is such a close family that they haven't ever seen this and do not know how to react. They probably went through feelings of anger, sadness, shock. One was unsurprised at the action itself, but not sure how to react once it occurred. Many were probably speechless. They didn't know how to react and decided to just let you come back when you wanted. They didn't realize that they should hold on. When they let go without a fight, it looked wrong. They mean well, but it looks wrong. But I can tell you they love you, and they miss you. Christmas was just wrong without you there. Everyone chatted and pretended everything was normal, but there was this huge elephant in the room that no one dared talk about. _Where is she? Is she ok? Why did she leave?_ The family misses you. You are a Noland, and we are incapable of separating. Even if they act distant now, we are incapable of staying separated."

"I hope you're right," she said sadly. "I never intended for it to be this long with no contact, but when I got here, I had no internet and there's no phone signal either. Then, when I got back on, few had contacted me."

I wasn't entirely sure of what I was saying, but I had to convince her I was. If she doubted me, she would definitely not come back. "Like I said, they miss you. Let them figure out their feelings. But don't wait too long, otherwise you may lose them forever. They could hear your side, but they may also be afraid of what they will hear. Of course they love their dad, but they love you too. A coping method to deal with hardships is to stop contact and that's what they're doing. Give it some time and if they haven't contacted you, then contact them again. The worst they can do now is ignore you. What are they going to do, disown you? They might be mad, disappointed, and/or confused, but this family is incapable of staying separated forever."

"Thank you."

"I love you, Dawn. And so does everyone else. Never forget that." She nodded, and I checked my watch. "I need to get off. I leave for the Wilds in three days and I have some verses to memorize to prepare."

"Ok, Grace. I'll try to catch you online later."

"Please do. I want to stay in contact with you. I love you more than those words mean. Once I go to Camp Half-Blood—the demigod camp—it'll be harder to get ahold of me, but I'll talk to you somehow. Remember not to talk about the gods unless another person obviously already knows about them. Love you."

"Ok. Love you, too" I waved my hand, breaking the connection, and focused on my camp prep.

**Here's the next chapter! And a day earlier that I thought it would be! Thank you to Caly for the review!**

**My readers are awesome! Thanks for sticking with the story even when my update days are random when-I-get-a-moment's! And I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**For the guest(s?) you sent me 4 reveiws after I updated last chapter:**

**Maybe if you had phrased it politely, you would get a real response. But you know what? Nobody's forcing you to read this. I made it plain from the beginning that this is a Christian story. YOU decided to keep reading. I did not make you. So, do us both a favor and go away. Thanks! :)**


	30. Chapter 30

A week and three days later, I arrived at Half-Blood Hill. The _Argo_ was docked on the lake, and campers were scrambling to be ready to leave in two weeks.

Chiron came to me as soon as I crossed the border. "I need to talk with you." I followed him to the Big House.

Once inside, he turned and said, "What do you think of the _Argo?_"

I thought it a bit weird to pull me aside to ask this, but replied, "I don't know. I haven't seen it yet. Looks pretty cool from a distance. The questers should enjoy it."

"Unfortunately, you won't be on it for yours."

"Mine? My what?" This reminds me of _The Lightning Thief_. Is he about to give me a quest?

"Your quest of course." Yup, I was right. "Do you accept?"

I sighed. "Chiron, as Percy told you years ago, you have to explain the quest before the camper will accept."

He made a face and replied with a sigh, "That's the hard part. Grace, have you heard about the absence of funerals recently?"

I shook my head. "Unless it obviously has to do with us, I don't pay attention to the news."

"People have stopped dying. Although we no longer hear from the gods, I can sense when it's time for a quest. You and two companions must journey to set free whatever god or goddess of death is being held captive. Do you accept the quest?"

I thought about it. If I didn't accept, I would stay here all summer, wondering if my sister and Percy were ok. If I left, I would have a part of the action. Chiron apparently thought I was the best for the job, which would also make it my duty to go. I made up my mind.

"I'll do it."

Chiron nodded. "You must pick your companions. Do you know who you want?"

"I have an idea, but can I ask them first?"

"That will be fine. Be back in thirty minutes with your choice."

I went in search of Malcolm. I would have preferred Annabeth, but she would be leaving with the _Argo _in two weeks. I found him in the cabin at his desk. Several others were there as well, so I said, "Malcolm? Can I talk to you a minute?"

"Sure." He paused. "Oh, you mean alone?" I nodded. "Come on." I followed him into the library, shutting the door behind me. "Ok, what's up?" he asked.

"I have a quest," I said bluntly. "Wanna come?"

It took him a minute to get over his shock. "A quest? For what?"

"People have stopped dying. It's my quest to find out who has been captured and free them. I think either Thanatos or the Fates have been taken."

He nodded, thinking. "Or the Keres. Any idea where to go?"

I shook my head. "I was hoping the prophecy would tell that. I don't get my prophecy until I pick my companions. So are you in?"

"Of course! Who's the other person?"

"I haven't asked her yet. Don't tell Annabeth unless she asks. She has her own prophecy and I don't want her to worry about me." Even though she hadn't told anyone, I had had a dream about the Mark of Athena. "Meet at the Big House in twenty minutes." I hugged Malcolm and left, headed to the Hecate cabin.

As expected, I found Lou Ellen inside, thankfully alone. "Hey, Lou Ellen. You have any plans for the next week or two?"

She looked at me funny. "No, why?"

"Want to go on a quest?" I found it easier to just be blunt.

I caught her off guard, and it took her a second to answer. "W-what?" she stuttered loudly. "Quest? Since when is there a quest?"

"Shh! Alert the whole camp why don't you? Nobody needs to know before it's announced. Yes, I have a quest. I'll give you and Malcolm details at the Big House. Are you in?"

"You bet I am!" Wow. I've never seen her this excited. Then again, I rarely see her outside the cabin. "I've never been on a quest." Ah, that explains the excitement.

I smiled. "Then come to the Big House. Rachel should be there to give us our prophecy."

Back at the Big House, Malcolm was waiting on the porch. "Nice. Magic and brains should be a good combination," he teased her.

"Careful, Malcolm," Lou Ellen teased back. "There's a reason you're not counselor of the Athena cabin."

"Ok, you too. Break it up," I cut in before it could escalate. The books never mentioned that Malcolm was such good friends with everyone. He was on joking-insult terms with almost everyone here. I didn't know how he did it. Probably because he's so laid back. "Let's go find Chiron."

We found him in his office, where he had told me about my quest. Rachel was sitting quietly in a corner.

"You choose Malcolm and Lou Ellen?" I nodded. "Very well." He turned to them. "Has she described the quest?"

"Somewhat," Malcolm answered.

"No," said Lou Ellen.

"Even without word from the gods," Chiron began. "I know a quest is near. People have stopped dying. One of the death gods or goddesses has been taken. You are to go find who has been captured and free them." My companions nodded understanding. "Rachel? I believe they need a prophecy."

She stepped out of her corner. "That may be a problem. As you know, I can tell when a prophecy is coming. Right now, I can feel that one is near, but not imminent. It may be days before the spirit speaks the prophecy for your quest. And you cannot start your quest until the prophecy comes."

"Ok, then." Chiron thought a moment. "Then you will start the quest the day the prophecy is given. Be ready to leave any day. Rachel, come find me when you feel the prophecy imminent."

As we walked out, I said, "This meeting didn't happen. The entire camp doesn't need to know until it's time for us to leave. Malcolm, that includes Annabeth. She has a job of her own that has her scared more than she will admit. She doesn't need the worry from our quest added. Understood?"

They nodded. "What does Annabeth have going on?" Malcolm asked.

"Unfortunately, I can't tell you. I only know because of a dream. It freaked her out so much she refused to tell anyone. The only person who she'll probably ever tell until it's over is Percy."

"What could freak out Annabeth?" Lou Ellen asked. "She never cracks."

I stared at her, wondering if she saw Annabeth after Percy disappeared. "No telling. Hopefully, she won't have to know about our quest."

We split up, going about our normal activities. I spent the day training. I was a little out of practice at changing my coin straight to a weapon other than a sword.

**And finally a new chapter! Sorry it took so long. Homework got in the way.**

**We are getting close to the end of what I have written. In trying to keep as close to cannon as possible, I, of course, cannot write about what Grace is doing during HoH until I know what the Seven are doing during HoH. This is an extreme pre-warning, as I still am seven chapters ahead (or hopefully about 4 weeks), but I want you to know well ahead of time that updates may halt for a week or two when I run out as I try to read HoH, keep up with class, and write more. Again, that'll be a bit, so enjoy the story now, and I'll bring it up again when I'm on my last couple pre-written chapters.**

**Thanks to Caly and Smiley Face for their reviews, and let me know what you think of this one!**


	31. Chapter 31

Two weeks passed with no prophecy. I spent those days training, watching the _Argo II_ form, and spending some time with Annabeth.

On the summer solstice, the day the _Argo_ was to leave, smoke started rising from the engine. I didn't understand engines enough to know exactly what happened, but the problem delayed departure for two days. The Hephaestus cabin was running frantic trying to fix it.

Finally, on the morning of the 23rd, we gathered to send them off.

The entire camp gathered around the questers. The Athena cabin stood closest to Annabeth, Hephaestus to Leo, and so on. We said goodbye, and my cabinmates each gave Annabeth a hug. I was last. As I hugged her, I whispered, "He will be there, he will know you, and he will help you with _it_. Don't lose hope. I love you, sis."

"I love you, too," she whispered back. When she pulled away, she asked a silent question. _It?_

Knowing she didn't want others to know and that she knew sign language, I quickly signed "Dream. MoA." Her eyes widened and I quickly signed further, "Won't tell. Will be thinking of you."

She relaxed a little and gave me another hug. She was about to tell me something else, but it was time for them to go. The four campers and Coach Hedge boarded the ship. Five minutes later, they took off. We waved until they were out of sight.

Everybody started to wander off when we heard a gasp. I glanced toward the sound. Rachel had doubled over. A quick glance at Chiron confirmed he knew what was coming. I found Lou Ellen and nodded to her. She started working her way over to Malcolm and me. When I looked back at Rachel, she was looking straight at me. The Oracle of Delphi spoke:

_Goddess missing, none can die_

_Follow the arrow, lose the sky_

_Three as one, not as you think_

_Two can work, but one missing link_

_In tandem with Athena's curse_

_Refuse the help to make it worse_

_Release the ones who are in a bind_

_Blessed of the hunt, child of mind_

Rachel collapsed into the arms of the two campers waiting behind her as Chiron looked at me. I nodded to Malcolm and Lou Ellen, who were standing on either side of me. Just as the campers were recovering from their shock, Malcolm, Lou Ellen, and I walked up front.

"I guess that's our cue," I quipped. Everyone started talking at once, some protesting, some questioning. Chiron tapped his hoof on the dock to quiet them.

"A quest!" he said. "Grace, Malcolm, and Lou Ellen have already been chosen." He turned to us. "Go to Athena's cabin to discuss your prophecy. You leave after lunch." As we walked off, I could hear him answering the camper's questions.

The three of us sat at a desk in the middle of the Athena cabin.

"Should we try to understand the prophecy some or just go with it?" Lou Ellen asked. This was her first quest, so she was looking for a bit of guidance.

"We need to know where to go," Malcolm said. "Let's figure out as many lines as we can. _Goddess missing, none can die_."

"We know that for people to stop dying either Thanatos, the Keres, or the Fates would have to be missing." That was Lou Ellen.

I replied, "_Goddess missing_ rules out Thanatos." I thought of a future line. "Are the Keres three?" I asked.

"The Keres are female spirits of violent death. Some myths have them as three, some more. We can't rule them out. Personally, I think it's more likely to be them than the Fates. I don't understand how Gaea could have imprisoned the Fates."

"True," Lou Ellen said thoughtfully.

"Actually, while one of the gods couldn't do it, Gaea wouldn't find it that hard," I told them. "All she would have to do is imprison them underground and take away Atropos' tools. Atropos wouldn't be able to cut the strings of life and no one would die."

"Makes sense," Lou Ellen agreed. "Next line: _Follow the arrow, lose the sky._"

"I don't know about that one," I said. "Lose the sky? How could you lose the sky? And what arrow?"

They shoot their heads.

"Next line: _Three as one, not as you think,_" said Lou Ellen.

"Three in one could refer to the Fates or the Keres. They're both groups of three that serve one purpose," Malcolm said. I thought about that. I didn't think that was right, but I couldn't pull up what the reference made me think of.

After a pause, Lou Ellen spoke the next line. "_Two can work, but one missing link._"

"We're not getting anywhere with this. Let's focus on where we go," I suggested. "Any ideas?"

"West," Lou Ellen said immediately.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I don't know. Just a feeling. We need to go west."

I suddenly had a vision of sorts. I clearly saw a small cave. Then the vision zoomed out to include a huge lake and a sign that said "Great Salt Lake, Utah."

"Great Salt Lake," I blurted. They stared at me and I fumbled on how to explain. "I don't know where that thought came from. It just pressed itself into my mind. We have to go to Great Salt Lake, Utah."

Malcolm shrugged. "Ok, then. That's in the west. I don't know where you're pulling these places from but it's the only lead we have. We'll take the pegasi to Great Salt Lake."

By now, it was lunchtime. Everyone was already at the pavilion when we came up, and they all stared at us. Chiron came over as he saw us walk up.

"Do you know where you're going?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered. "Great Salt Lake, Utah. We need pegasi."

He nodded. "You can use Jellybean, Amber, and Jewel."

"That works," Malcolm replied.

We ate lunch, then the camp gathered at the stables to send us off.

**Thank you Caly and ThePirateoftheSeaofMonsters for your reviews. Caly, please allow pm's and I will directly respond to your reviews. You have pm's turned off, intentionally of not idk.**

**This is only my second prophecy, so sorry if it's not that good. Please tell me what you think! (criticism welcome. flames are used to make s'mores, then will be ignored.)**


	32. Chapter 32

I took Jellybean, Malcolm rode Jewel, and Lou Ellen mounted Amber. As we flew west, I looked back to see everyone still standing there, watching us go with mixed looks on their faces.

We stayed pretty quiet on the ride. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. I spent most of the time doubting my ability to lead this quest. What if we were wrong about Utah? Did we have a deadline we didn't know about? What if someone got hurt? Would I be able to help them? My thoughts ran in circles during the ride. I had forgotten a very important verse, as God tells us in Philippians to "be anxious for nothing."

Jellybean brought me back to reality at about 6:30. _We need to land._

I started. _Why? Wait. Where are we?_

I heard Jellybean nicker. _Someone was zoned out. We're somewhere over western Kansas. We won't make it to Utah today. There's nobody out here. And Amber and Jewel think this is a good area. Ask the others?_

_ Ok. _"Hey, guys, what do you say we camp here tonight? We can finish the trip in the morning."

With an ok from my companions, we landed in the Middle-of-Nowhere, Kansas.

After we got off, a panic-stricken Lou Ellen looked at us. "We don't have any tents!" she exclaimed. "Of course we do," I assured her. I took my pack off my back and pulled two tents out. I tossed one to Malcolm and the other to Lou Ellen. "Set those up. I'll go find us some dinner." My bow appeared in my hand, and, with a nod from them, I walked into the woods.

As I walked through the plains, I marveled at how few animals there were. All my life I had been in either the west—Colorado had a multitude of mountain animals—or the east—Tennessee was all woods and New York had animals outside the city. I wasn't used to the Great Plains. _Nothing_ lived here. I sneaked through the tall grass for probably twenty minutes before I sensed anything. Glancing to my right, I saw a large rabbit foraging for food. A quick movement sent an arrow through its eye. _Awesome. One or two more should make a good meal,_ I thought.

It took another twenty minutes to find two more rabbits for a meal. I cleaned them, saving the pelts too, and headed back to camp.

We cooked the rabbits over a fire Lou Ellen managed to light. It wasn't bad. I had never had rabbit before, but I liked it. After our meal, we called it a night.

The next morning, we got up around 8 or 9, packed our stuff, and left. We each rode on the same pegasus as before, and the ride was quiet. No one talked, each trapped in his or her own thoughts. We rode this way until we reached the front range outside Denver mid-afternoon, when the monotony was broken by as unearthly screech.

_ FREAK! _

I sighed. I knew we couldn't go long without a monster attack. I called to the others. "Monster alert! It's a griffon! Take cover!"

The pegasi went into a nosedive to take cover amongst the trees below. As we fell, I managed to get a few arrows off into the monster. Far from killing it, however, I think I just made it mad. When we reached the ground, I hopped off Jellybean just as I heard a grunt of pain. _Great_, I thought sarcastically. _Who's injured?_

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to check. Focusing on firing arrows, I barely noticed the bursts of light coming from my left. That is, until one hit the griffon at the same time as one of my arrows, turning it to dust. I turned to see Lou Ellen standing over Malcolm, who was unnervingly still.

I ran to his side, and immediately saw the problem. The griffon had managed to graze his head with a talon, knocking him out and giving him a large cut, but he would survive. I quickly gave him some ambrosia and washed the cut with nectar. He came around a few minutes later and tried to sit up, but we held him down.

"You can't get up, Malcolm," I told him. "The griffon got you pretty good and you'll need your rest to be able to continue the quest. We'll camp here tonight to give you a chance to heal."

We set up camp, I hunted for dinner—this time killing a mule deer—and we hit the sack, all falling off the deep end of an adrenaline high.

The next morning, the morning of June 25, we got up early, bent on continuing the ride to Utah. About 6:30 am local time, we flew over a suburb I recognized.

"Hey, guys!" I called. "We're flying over my Dad's house and he's home! Anybody want some real food?" The answer was instantaneous. Thirty minutes for a quick breakfast.

We landed in Dad's backyard as he was leaving the house for work. The shock on his face was priceless when he noticed us behind him.

"Grace! I thought you were at camp?!"

I explained my quest briefly, watering down the dangerous parts, which, like Percy, was pretty much everything, and ended with, "And we would love some real food. I see you're on your way out. Do you mind if we use your kitchen? We'll clean up when we're done."

"You know how to cook?" I never cooked here.

"Dad, there are two children of Athena here. I think we can figure it out."

He laughed. "Oh, go ahead. Just made sure you clean up when you're done."

"You got it!" He walked down the driveway to the car and left us in the yard.

Once he drove off, I walked around the side of the house to the shed and retrieved the spare key. Unlocking the door, we hurried inside and went straight to the kitchen.

"Ok, guys," I said. "Thirty minutes _max,_ then we have to leave."

That had to be the fastest breakfast ever made. We cooked pancakes, sausage, bacon (lots of bacon!) and various other foods and pigged out! When we finished, we were about to start dishes, but a quick look at the clock revealed we were out of time. I suddenly had an idea.

"Lou Ellen, you're the magician here. Picture the room and the fridge exactly how it was when we got here and say this." I scribbled _Hi-nehm_ on a scrap of paper.

She looked at it, confused. "This isn't a spell."

"Of course it is. It's just a different language. But since your mother's Hecate, I don't think the language matters." I told her how to pronounce it, and she agreed it was worth a shot.

I actually had two reasons for giving her an Egyptian spell. One, I didn't want to do dishes and we had no way to replace the food. Two, I wanted to see if Egyptian mythology was real.

_"Hi-nehm!_"

**Ha! Evil cliffhanger! I don't do those very often, so it was time for one. *evil grin* It being Sunday, I prolly won't update again til next weekend. So, your review can be groaning about my cliffy and speculating on what you think happens. :D**

**Thank you to WaterlooRoad and Caly for your reviews!**

**And since I haven't reminded my awesome readers in a while, my disclaimer for ****_all_**** my stories is on my profile.**

**Have a good week! And tell me your thoughts on the chapter!**


	33. Chapter 33

"Lou Ellen, you're the magician here. Picture the room and the fridge exactly how it was when we got here and say this." I scribbled _Hi-nehm_ on a scrap of paper.

She looked at it, confused. "This isn't a spell."

"Of course it is. It's just a different language. But since your mother's Hecate, I don't think the language matters." I told her how to pronounce it, and she agreed it was worth a shot.

I actually had two reasons for giving her an Egyptian spell. One, I didn't want to do dishes and we had no way to replace the food. Two, I wanted to see if Egyptian mythology was real.

_"Hi-nehm!_"

Understand, I didn't expect it to work. So you can imagine my surprise when everything flew back into place clean and the fridge restocked itself. I kept a neutral face, however, and acted like I totally expected that.

"And that would be the spell for _join_," I told them. I looked to Lou Ellen. "You good?" She appeared a bit tired, but otherwise fine. She nodded. "Then let's go."

We left the house, leaving a note on the counter for Dad and locking the door behind us. Mounting our respective pegasi, we headed west.

After a few battles against various flying monsters, we arrived at the Great Salt Lake around noon. We would have gotten there earlier, but the Colorado Rockies' front range becomes the target of the monsoons each year from the end of June through around the middle of July, and the storms today were quite a bit worse than usual. We were forced to wait the unusually severe morning thunderstorm out in a cave near Winter Park.

We finally landed on the south shore of Great Salt Lake and, remembering my vision, I told them to look for a small cave.

We spent hours looking, but turned up nothing. Sometime mid-afternoon, I was about to suggest a short break when I happened to glance up.

_What the heck?_ A giant, very familiar ship was descending onto the lake at speeds I knew Leo would never perform unless it was an emergency.

"Malcolm! Lou Ellen! Get to the pegasi!" I took off running for Jellybean, the muffled _thumps_ behind me assuring me they had heard my call.

I mounted Jellybean when they caught up. Both took a flying leap to land on their mounts, apologizing even as they did it. We were in the air before either of them spoke

"What's wrong?!" Malcolm asked frantically.

"The _Argo II_ is crash landing in the lake. We can't openly help, but we might be able to discreetly." They nodded, and we flew closer to the ship, taking care to stay out of radar.

We left the pegasi in the trees under a request for them to not move lest they were spotted, while we crept to the shore. After around fifteen minutes of watching, a horse jumped from the ship with two people before becoming invisible. I quickly reached into my bag and pulled out my binoculars, focusing them on the opposite shore.

"You two keep an eye for a horse on our shore please." A few seconds later, I spotted them stop on the south shore of a nearby island. "Hmm. It seems they have a horse that travels at the speed of sound. Arion, perhaps? Let's go eavesdrop and see what they're looking for."

We arrived around a dune to the north of a boy—Leo—and a girl I didn't recognize, and crept closer to listen in.

"—one problem solved, anyway," Leo was saying. "This is lime."

"The whole beach?" the girl asked.

"Yeah. See? The granules are perfectly round. It's not really sand. It's calcium carbonate." Leo pulled out a baggie and started scooping the lime into it. Suddenly, he paused a second, as if thinking, but a word from the girl got him moving again. She knelt next to him and started helping him fill the bag. I had stopped listening into their conversation, but I didn't miss the looks that passed between them. Unfortunately for my teasing career, they were more curious than love-struck. When they came back, I couldn't tease Leo about his new girlfriend. Something told me she was taken anyway.

Eventually, they finished filling the bag and stood up. Leo looked around. "Festus said there was Celestial bronze close by, but I'm not sure where—"

The girl cut in, pointing up the beach. "That way. About five hundred yards."

"How do you—?"

"Precious metals," she answered. "It's a Pluto thing." _Pluto? Hades controls more of the death aspect and Pluto the wealth? Interesting. Wonder if she knows Nico._

"Handy talent," was the reply. "Lead the way, Miss Metal Detector."

I stifled a giggle at that and we followed them up the beach. We crossed a dune and watch the conversation with Nemesis, but our hiding place was too far away to hear much of their conversation. I did catch the girl's name, however. Hazel. She must be one of the Roman demigods from Camp Jupiter. They talked a minute, Leo and Hazel alternately paling at Nemesis' words, and both paling when she released a wicked smile. The goddess of revenge handed Leo an unbroken fortune cookie, which he didn't appear to want, but pocketed anyway. They exchanged a few more words, then Nemesis climbed on her bike, revved the engine, and disappeared, only to reappear in front of us.

"Lady Nemesis," I acknowledged respectfully. I didn't like her any more than most, but I preferred not to make her mad.

She blinked, surprised. "A polite demigod. That's a first. What is your business here?" Her expression was neutral, and her body language much less hostile than when she was conversing with Leo and Hazel.

"We were following the other two, ma'am, trying to see if they needed help. They don't know we're here."

"Indeed. On your quest to free the fates?" The question was rhetorical, and I remained silent. I half-expected Malcolm or Lou Ellen to speak, but they seemed content to let me do the talking. Nemesis didn't let them off for long, however. She turned her gaze to Malcolm. "And what of your sister, hmm? Aren't you worried for her?"

"Of course we are," I replied. "She's our sister after all." I didn't want to give either of them a chance to speak, lest they make her mad. If she gets mad, I want it on me and only me.

She stared at me, her gaze calculating, then lighting up as she figured it out. "He doesn't know?"

"Of course not. Annabeth didn't even want _me_ to know, but she didn't have a choice in that matter. I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone unless I had her permission."

"On the Styx?"

"May as well have been, because I'm dead if I break it."

"Indeed. Well, then I won't spill her secret."

"Now," I said. "If I may, why are _you_ here?"

"To help of course!" She displayed that wicked smile again, the one that made Leo and Hazel both pale. I'm pretty sure the three of us followed their example. A line of prophecy ran through my head: _Refuse the help to make it worse._

_Wonderful, _I thought._ We have to accept help from the goddess of revenge. That will turn out _lovely. "What kind of help?" I asked aloud.

"You're going to have a problem you can't solve." She handed me a fortune cookie. "Break that open when the time comes. The answer will be inside."

"Why should we trust you?" I asked carefully, wanting to know but still trying not to make her mad.

"Because I love tearing down the proud and powerful and no one needs to be torn down a few notches more than Gaea and her giants. A warning, though. As I told the others, I will not suffer undeserved success. Good luck is a sham. True success requires sacrifice."

"Sacrifice? Sacrifice?!" My voice rose with each word. I calmed myself a bit before continuing. "Haven't we already sacrificed enough?" I asked, my voice tight. "My family has almost died multiple times. My mother's still clueless about this side of me, and I worry every day for her safety. Malcolm doesn't have a family and Lou Ellen's father hates her. I'd say we've sacrificed enough. Plus, how do we know your answer won't get us in more trouble?"

She ignored my outburst, which was fine with me, but answered my question by reiterating, "Because I love tearing down the proud and powerful and no one needs to be lowered a few notches more than Gaea and her giants. Now, I've kept you too long." _Finally! She's letting us leave._ No matter how polite I was, I was done talking with her. "You're friends are headed that way." She pointed over the rise. "Be careful, though. My poor boy gets…anxious after dark." She revved her bike and disappeared for good, leaving the three of us nervous and me holding a cookie. I shoved the cookie in my pocket and we followed Leo and Hazel.

**Thanks to Caly, WaterlooRoad, and SkyCrawlers for reviewing!**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I have three pre-written chapters left. Unfortunately, it's about 4 weeks til i can read HoH. That tells me that unless I gain a LOT of free time the second week of Oct (doubt it) there will be 2-3 weeks of no updates when my pre-written runs out. Again, this is still a pre-warning, as i have almost a month still, but i want me awesome readers to know well in advance.**

**Review and tell me what you think of the chapter please! **


	34. Chapter 34

We caught up to them in a crowd of nymphs who appeared to be ogling over someone or something in the center of their group. Motioning my companions to stay put, I rubbed my necklace and sneaked closer. Peering around the crowd, I caught a glimpse of someone crouching over the stream. He appeared to be staring at his reflection. I realized this was Narcissus, the guy who broke Echo's heart and was changed into a flower by Nemesis as punishment. _Looks like 5,000 years in the Underworld didn't change his habits,_ I smirked internally. I saw Leo and Hazel up front talking to him. He must want the Celestial bronze Narcissus is staring at. Leo said something else, and he, Hazel, and a nymph who must be Echo went to a nearby boulder, out of earshot of the group. I became an invisible part of the group and listened to their plans. Hazel was to draw the bronze through the earth, while Leo and Echo caused a distraction. I ran back to Malcolm and Lou Ellen.

"The group of nymphs are surrounding Narcissus, who is ogling himself in a piece of Celestial bronze in the stream. Leo and Hazel need the bronze, so Hazel is going to use her Pluto power to draw the bronze through the earth while Leo and Echo cause a distraction. I can turn invisible and help Hazel. If I touch even her clothing she becomes invisible too, but I can't think of how to get you two into the group to help Leo with his distraction."

I have no idea where it came from, but I could have sworn Artemis' voice saying _Turn invisible and touch them. Say Hi-nehm. It only works once in a while, as the spell has a time lapse, but you'll have fifteen minutes._ And the presence was gone. Malcolm was snapping his fingers in front of my face.

I focused on him. "You ok?" he asked, worried. "You paled and your eyes went glassy."

I shook my head. "I'm fine. Not sure how, but Artemis just talked to me. I know how to get you two into the group. Once you turn invisible, you'll have fifteen minutes, so I'll do it just as they start. Let's go over to the group, but stay hidden."

We crept closer, staying to the rocks, and waited for our cue. A couple minutes later, Leo walked out, and I suppressed a snort. Taking a quick picture for blackmail, I turned invisible. Grabbing their arms, I said, "_Hi-nehm,"_ and they disappeared. "You have fifteen minutes. Go!" They scrambled to join the crowd of nymphs while I headed towards Hazel. Sneaking up behind her behind the nearest rock, I grabbed ahold of her shirttail. She never realized she was invisible. A few seconds later, the piece of bronze appeared at her feet and she took off running as fast as she could while lugging 50 pounds of bronze. I followed her, keeping ahold of her shirt while making sure to stay in step so I didn't tug. We were almost home free when I tripped, letting go of her to avoid being noticed. In the time it took for me to pick myself up and catch up to her, she had been seen. I grabbed her again and kept her invisible until I heard Leo behind me. Timing it right, I let her go, she becoming visible just as Leo came in sight. He caught up to her and helped her with the shield—I couldn't because that would have given me away—and they hightailed it to the ship. I saw Arion spray the nymphs with lime, them mount Arion, disappear, then reappear on the boat, then I headed back to the boulder near Narcissus' stream.

It hadn't been fifteen minutes, so I quietly asked, "Are you here?"

"Yup."

"Present."

"Good, now let's figure out where the fates are being kept. Hopefully it's close b-b—" I stuttered to a stop, staring at an oddly shaped cloud in a previously clear twilight sky. It was getting dark, but the cloud was obviously shaped like an arrow, pointing directly at a rock formation at the top of the hill. I pointed to it. "I think we found our arrow."

Thankfully, the hike up didn't take long, and maybe twenty minutes later we made it to the top. We started looking around. _Gaea would be more powerful underground…_

"Look for a cave entrance!" I called.

I don't know about the others, but as I looked for the cave, I thought about the other quest, mainly Annabeth. I got my binoculars out and looked down at the ship. They looked almost ready to take off. I saw Percy and Coach Hedge on deck and Annabeth joined them a second later as the ship rose. I thought I saw Annabeth glance my way, but after a second of staring, she went below. I lowered my binoculars and continued looking for the cave.

After the war was over, I heard their version of the story, and Annabeth told me about that evening. As I did with Dad's point of view back in December, instead of waiting to tell it as I heard it, I'll tell what she saw here, from her point of view: We—well, Leo—had just finished fixing the ship and I went to the deck to check on Percy. Something about not being around him for eight months made me want to spend every second with him now. I talked with Percy a moment as we lifted off the water and was about to go back to my cabin when I caught a reflection off the hill. I stared a second and, not seeing it again, went to get my binoculars, which were conveniently just inside the door. When I trained them on the hill, I about fell over. Three people were at the crest, looking for something. One by one, I caught their faces and, while I couldn't be sure, it looked like Lou Ellen, Malcolm, and Grace.

_What could they be doing out here? Was there another quest issued?_ There was no time to contemplate it, as we had a meeting, but for the rest of the trip, what I'd seen was always in the back of my mind.

We continued looking for a cave entrance, and I prayed for guidance. While we looked, I had noticed an absence of animal noise on this hill. You can imagine my surprise, then, when I heard a dove call from a nearby tree. I glanced over, and as soon as I noticed it, the dove flew to a bush on my right. I walked slowly towards it, and it waited until I noticed a small hole in the rock before disappearing.

"Guys! Over here!" They jogged over and I pointed to the cave. "A dove showed the way. That's what the prophecy meant! _Three in one, not as you think._ God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three manifestations—for lack of a better word—of one God, and a dove is often used to signify the Holy Spirit." _Thank you, Lord,_ I prayed.

They just nodded, apparently speechless, and we jumped down the hole.

**I have 2 more pre-written chapters. If all works out, maybe there won't be a short hiatus. :)**

**Thanks to WaterlooRoad for the review! Let me know what you think of the chapter!**


	35. Chapter 35

We landed in a small tunnel that went deep into the hill. Once everyone jumped down, we slowly started making our way through. We were well aware we were in Gaea's territory, and we stayed on the lookout for an army lying in wait. After walking for fifteen or twenty minutes, we reached the end.

There was nothing there.

In hushed whispers, we discussed what to do next.

"Could we be in the wrong cave?"

"This is the only one here."

"Maybe it goes further."

_Snort. _"_You_ feel that wall? That's the end of the tunnel."

"Well where do we go unless it's forward?"

Then a sarcastic, "I'd love to be able to tunnel into hard-packed dirt, but I don't see a shovel here, do you?"

I decide we're getting nowhere. "I think the only thing to do is go back the way we came and look for a tunnel that branches off. You two can bicker later. Staying here has us cornered and I have no doubt this is a trap."

They look at me and grudgingly nod. We turn around, walked three steps, and promptly found that trap.

A door opened in the side of the tunnel and suddenly the path was blocked by thirty to forty monsters—cyclops, telkhine, dracaena, and empousa made up part of the army. The rest was a hodgepodge ranging from really smart monsters, elder Cyclops, to the dumber ones, like hellhounds. All these crammed into the narrow tunnel. It would have been easy enough for us to take them all in a more open area, but in these small quarters, it would be a miracle to come out alive.

"And this would be the trap you spoke of," Lou Ellen quietly told me. "Any ideas, Brain?"

"Here's the plan," I told them out the corner of my mouth. I spoke loud enough for them to hear me, but not loud enough for the enemy to hear. "Fight back to back. Protect the one beside you. We're aiming for that door they came out of and so _kindly_ left open. Once we get through that door, start looking for a latch. Hopefully, this is the entire army and if we can lock them out, we can focus on how to free the Fates. Ready?" They nodded. "Go!"

We charged the army, weapons ready. Malcolm and Lou Ellen dropped a half a step behind me as we fought our way in to monsters. A second later, we were back to back fighting our way through. I had my shield out and my weapon changed every few minutes. Lou Ellen had a sword out, but was casting spells almost more than swinging her sword. Malcolm was fighting with a spear I had never seen before, but one he'd obviously practiced with a lot.

My weapon's versatility really came in handy in that battle. I started out with a sword, but after we ran through the dumber monsters—hellhounds and the like—the other ones were using longer-range weapons, like spears, or no weapons at all. I shot a couple empousa that had captured Malcolm's eye, then clubbed that Cyclops Lou Ellen was fighting. I turn back around to see one of Lou Ellen's spells taking out a dracaena trying to sneak up on me.

We steadily made progress toward the door and the enemy never seemed to catch on to our goal. Finally, after many, many close calls, we stood in the doorway.

"Malcolm! Look for a latch!" Lou Ellen and I fought while he looked for the mechanism.

"Got it!" he calls.

"Lou Ellen, get inside the door!" She takes a step back, still battling, but inside the door. "On three, close the door. One. Two. Three!" As I say three, I launch myself backwards and the door closes, locking the ten or fifteen monsters we hadn't killed yet outside.

We turn as one, breathing heavily, to find ourselves in another tunnel. We walk down, looking for traps but seeing nothing. At the end, it opens into a triangle-shaped room with the opposite corner chopped off. There appeared to be a mound or something there, tucked into the corner as if trying not to be noticed.

Upon closer inspection, the mound turns out to be the Fates' prison. Fashioned similar to the one Leo, Piper, and Jason described last winter, their prison is an earthen cage, with the "bars" almost too close together to see inside. Malcolm walks up to the cage and tries to peer through a gap.

"Can you hear me?" he asks quietly. He turns around and shakes his head. "I can see them in there, well, their shapes anyway. It's hard to see anything clearly. But I don't think they can hear us."

"Well, we found them, now how to we get them out?" Lou Ellen asks.

"You don't." We spin around to face the new voice and find ourselves looking at a pack of red-eyed wolves. I focus in on the tallest—and only human—member of the group. The man had greasy, ragged, soot-colored hair. He wore tattered, obviously uncured, and apparently not very fresh pelts for clothing. Atop his head sat a crown of what looked like finger bones. The most frightening part was his face, however. His thin, pale skin was stretched tight over his skull; his teeth were sharpened into glistening fangs; and his eyes glowed bright red. Maybe he's not so human after all.

"Lycaon," I growl.

"You know him?" Lou Ellen asked.

I nodded. "He invited Zeus to dinner, but wasn't sure it was really Zeus. To test him, Lycaon tried to feed Zeus human flesh. Zeus was outraged. He killed Lycaon's sons and turned Lycaon himself into this. _Lycanthropes_, werewolves, were named after him, the first werewolf."

"And I've been seeking revenge ever since!" he added. "And Gaea's given me the perfect chance! Unlike the others, you're not needed alive, and my pack is hungry."

"You're not killing anyone. Not on my watch." I growled, aiming a pistol at him. I knew it wouldn't work, but hopefully he didn't know I knew that. Lycaon extended his claws as his pack howled. Malcolm expanded his spear and swiped it at the closest wolf. It went right through.

Wolf man laughed—a cruel laugh that was more frigid with cruelty than warm with mirth. "Gold, bronze, steel—none of these are any good against my wolves, son of wisdom. Only silver. You know that. You don't have silver. In fact, only the Hunters have silver. As none of you are Hunters, you have no chance."

They started to close in, and we backed up a step. Lou Ellen called out "_Incendium!_" and several of the wolves lit on fire. "What should we do?" she asked me.

**Another week down! By the time we see each other again, House of Hades will be out!**

**I have one more pre-written chapter and I have two days of no classes next week. That tells me that barring a disaster, there will not be a hiatus on this story any time soon. :)**

**Thanks to Waterloo Road and Caly for your reviews.**

**No, WaterlooRoad, there won't. Sorry, but I am absolutely no good at writing romance, so I don't have any planned for this story. Not to mention my view of budding romance is similar to Rick's, it'd take years, and this story won't cover that long. With all that being said, I usually don't write my stories, I begin them then they write themselves. So who knows, maybe Grace will find someone, but I doubt it. **

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please let me know what you think! I know more than 2 people are reading, so review please!**

**BTW, my story stats are showing 15 views on my last chapter, but a few chapters in a row before that with no views. Does anyone understand this site well enough to explain that to me, as those who read chapter 34 had to have read chapter 32?**


	36. Chapter 36

**I haven't pointed it out in a while, but my eternal disclaimer is one my profile :)**

I looked around me. We were standing in front of the cage, and this part of the room was narrow enough only a few could come within range at a time. I got an idea. _This_ _is what Artemis was referring to,_ I thought. "Guys, work on that cage. I'll cover you."

Malcolm's eyebrows furrowed. "But—"

I winked at him, changing the pistol to a sword. "Trust me."

"So you'll sacrifice yourself?" Lycaon sneered. "Too bad it won't save your friends! Your sword won't work any better than his spear."

"Oh, this?" I asked innocently. "This is going on the ground, to show you that I can kill you without my sword."

He laughed again. "And how do you plan to do that? Choke us to death? The rest of us would kill you before you killed one of us."

I grinned wickedly. "Like this!" My bow appeared in my hand. In the blink of an eye, I flipped it sideways and notched three arrows. The three lead wolves dissolved into dust. He stood there in shock, for a good three seconds. In those three seconds, I managed to kill at least six more wolves. Then, coming out of his shock, he did exactly what I expected him to. Growling to his remaining wolves, they ran, while I fired off more arrows and killed three more.

He fixed me with a hard glare. "This isn't over. Gaea will rule!" I hit him in the shoulder, and he yelled in pain. He glared at me once more before he disappeared into the tunnel.

With that menace out of sight, I turned my attention to the cage. "Any luck?" I asked.

They shook their head. "There's no way to dissolve it. It's like Gaea thrust her hand out of the ground and wrapped around them. Lou Ellen's tried every dissolve and open spell she knows, nothing works, and if she does many more, she'll pass out."

I tried to think. Knowing Lycaon, he would be back in a few minutes with a larger army. We had to release the Fates and be out of here before then. I didn't know half as many spells as Lou Ellen did, which meant she had probably tried all I knew. When Leo had to free Hera, he had used a saw and Piper's charmspeak. I had neither, relying solely on what I knew. The cage was made of rock, as opposed to the surrounding earth, so there was no way my sword could cut through it. We could use trial and error, but that would take time—time we didn't have. I was out of luck, almost out of time, and we were going to die in a few minutes, because this was a problem I could not solve.

_A problem you cannot solve._ Nemesis had warned me about this moment. I took the cookie out of my pocket. _True success requires sacrifice_, she's also said. I wondered what would be the price if I opened it. But if I didn't open it, we'd all die. I didn't have a choice. I just prayed that the sacrifice would not be one of my other friends.

I took a deep breath. "I need the way to open the Fates' prison," and I broke open the cookie. Unfurling the little paper inside, I read: "That's your request? Really? I thought you knew that answer. (over)" On the back, the paper said "You're lucky number is _Ha-di_, magician. (Wreak vengeance upon Gaea, Grace Noland!)"

I mentally kicked myself. I never thought to use Egyptian magic against a Greek goddess. Against a kitchen? Of course. That's mortal domain. But in Greek territory? Never crossed my mind. I handed the note to Lou Ellen.

"Focus on the cage, and say this, like you would with your other spells. It is pronounces with a tall _a_ and the _i_ is a long _e_. Malcolm back up a little. If this works, the cage will explode." _And it better work,_ I think, _or I'm hunting Nemesis down._

All three of us back up a step, with Malcolm and me a half a step behind Lou Ellen. She looked at me and I nodded.

She focused, "_Ha-di!_" and the cage exploded. I breathed a sigh of relief. Looking where the cage used to be, the three shapes became fully visible, and the Fates threw off their cloaks. Instead of the old ladies I was expecting to see, being described as such in _The Lightning Thief_ and appearing that way after the battle last August, I saw three young ladies. I'm sure I looked stunned, but they didn't say anything. They looked us in the eye and nodded thanks. Then the world turned upside down and I almost blacked out.

When my eyes refocused, I found myself outside next to the cave entrance. The sky was clear, and by the starlight I could see Malcolm and Lou Ellen next to me. I gulped, my stomach churning. "You two alright?" Malcolm simply nodded. I looked to Lou Ellen, only to see her leaning heavily on a tree.

"Lou?" Malcolm asked. "You ok?"

"Yes," she said in barely more than a whisper. "I did too many spells. I'm having trouble staying awake."

I nodded, thinking. "Can you walk a short distance? We can't camp here. We need to get down the hill a little so we're not so exposed."

"A short ways, yeah," came the reply.

We stumbled our way down the hill, all of us exhausted from the multiple battles. Finally, about halfway down the hill, we stopped to set up camp in the cover of some trees. None of us bothered about food. We just crashed. I was out before I hit the pillow.

The next morning, we woke up around mid-morning and packed up the tents.

"Do you want to eat first or just head straight to camp?" I asked them.

"Food," they said in unison.

"I agree. You search for plants. I'll hunt down a rabbit or three."

Fifteen minutes later, we gathered at the campsite to show what we found. Lou Ellen had found a mulberry bush and had brought back handfuls of the berries. Malcolm had found a bunch of blueberries. Those, plus the two rabbits I had killed made a great breakfast.

When we finished eating, we cleaned up, and I called Jellybean.

_Hey, Jellybean?_

_ There you are, Grace! Are you guys ok? We couldn't find you anywhere!_

_ We're fine. We were underground freeing the Fates. We're about half-way down the hill now. Can you three come get us? Our quest is done and we'd like to go home._

_ We're on our way._

A minute later, three pegasi landed in front of us. We mounted and headed back to camp.

During the ride, I sat lost in thoughts, thinking about the choices I had made and wondering if I could have done anything differently.

_Grace?_ Jellybean said.

I jumped a bit, startled from my thoughts. _Yeah?_

_You ok? You look sad about something. I thought the quest was a success._

I sighed. _It was. But we met Nemesis when we were following Leo and Hazel. She offered us help, for a price. She told me I would face a problem I could not solve and that if I broke this fortune cookie open, the answer would be there, but also told us that true success requires sacrifice. I didn't want to, but I unfortunately had to use the cookie to free the Fates. I'm worried about what the price will be. I did it to save Malcolm and Lou Ellen, because an army would be coming in a few minutes to stop us, but what if by saving them I doomed someone else?_

Jellybean was silent a moment. _Whatever happens, Grace, it doesn't sound like you had a choice. Not accepting that help would have failed the quest and killed you all. Don't guilt yourself for something that hasn't happened._

I nodded and we spent the rest of the ride in silence.

**Thanks to WaterlooRoad and Sunny for reviewing!**

**House of Hades is out! I've read it twice. One to read and once to study for upcoming chapters. :)**

**ALL FUTURE CHAPTERS WILL HAVE HOUSE OF HADES SPOILERS!**

**As always, hope you enjoyed and please review!**

**We've reached the point where even I don't know what happens next**


	37. Chapter 37

**All further chapters are eligible for House of Hades spoilers!**

A few hours after sunrise the next day, we arrived to find the camp in battle prep. From what I gathered from a frenzied camper, apparently Rachel had a vision the day before, showing the Seven fleeing an angry mob Camp Jupiter legionnaires, and the Romans preparing for war on Camp Half-Blood. Having no idea when the attack would occur, they of course got straight to work.

Our arrival was met with anything but celebration, unlike the usual return-from-quest day most questers received. In fact, it reminded me of the past summer, when mini-quests were constantly being sent in preparation for the Titan War.

After settling back into my cabin, I wandered over to the Big House. I didn't really have a specific reason for going there, but I went anyway. I was about to go in to see if Chiron had any updates on the Seven when I heard him talking. And, what's more, I recognized the voice that answered. _Can't be_.

I jumped the stairs and ran in. The senior scribe was inside, talking to Chiron about what had happened recently.

"Rick Riordan?!" Their conversation stopped and they both stared at me.

Chiron then turned to Rick, "Well, so much for you being here staying a secret," he said with a smile. Turning to me, he said, "Grace, it appears you already know—or at least know of—Mr. Riordan. Rick, this is Grace, daughter of Athena." He smiled and nodded hello. "Grace," Chiron continued, "I hope your quest was a success?"

"It was," I replied, still looking at Rick. I couldn't believe he was here. "We travelled to Utah. There, we were able to help the Seven retrieve repair materials, as they had crash landed into Great Salt Lake. Once they were away safely, Malcolm, Lou Ellen, and I found a cave at the nearest hill's summit. Deep in that cave, we battled Gaea's army and freed the Fates."

Chiron studied me. He knew I was omitting something. "How did you free them?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Chiron."

"Try me."

I hesitated, then decided to show them, as I was pretty sure I could. "Do you have something I can destroy? I don't think I can pull something like this off twice with no practice."

He tossed me a raggedy pillow. "Here. I need to throw it away anyway."

I took a few steps back, glanced out each window to make sure we were alone—we were—then turned to Chiron and Rick. "Chiron, has Rick ever told you about Carter and Sadie?" I tossed the pillow into the air, formed my fingers into a horizontal gun, and called, "_Ha-di!"_

Several things happened simultaneously. Chiron's face went from calm, to curious, to shocked, Rick's face went from calm, to nervous, to shocked, to _scared_, and the room went from cluttered, but relatively clean, to covered in a layer of feathers as the Egyptian symbol for _destroy_ glowed in the air.

"How—Where—What?" That's the first time I've ever heard or heard of Rick struck speechless. Chiron's mouth simply hung open. What can I say? Apparently, I'm good at stunning people.

Chiron regained his ability to speak a few seconds later. "How did you do that?!" I looked at Rick, who hadn't quiet gotten over his shock.

Eventually, he managed to shake his head. "I—I cannot say. I swore never to reveal one to the other."

I snorted. "Well, I didn't." I turned to Chiron. "That was the Egyptian spell for destroy. Carter and Sadie Kane sent a recording to Mr. Riordan here about their adventures in defeating Apophis, the Egyptian embodiment of Chaos. Sadie's home is Brooklyn, on the other side of the river. They recently prevented their own apocalypse. You do remember that double sunrise a few months ago, right? Yeah, that was the turning point of their battle. I wouldn't be surprised if they come in as back up in this war. Anyway, we used Egyptian magic to release the Fates from their prison. And no, my companions don't know about the Kanes."

Chiron took a moment to digest that. "How, long have you known?" he asked Rick.

"About 4 years," was the reply. Chiron turned to me.

"Two," I said. "I didn't find the books right away." Chiron nodded, thinking.

"I know that look on your face," Rick spoke up. "It would not be a good decision to contact them. You already have one battle coming due to a misunderstanding. Do you want to risk another?"

"He's right. It would not be logical to contact them right now. We have enough problems with Camp Jupiter. We don't need 365 Nomes involved too. I also don't think the entire camp needs to know. Why have them worry about more?"

Chiron sighs deeply. "Very well." He seems to think of something. "Grace, you can't pass by the Big House on the way to an activity or cabin. Why did you come up here?"

"I wanted to know if you'd had any updates from the _Argo_. But I got sidetracked when I saw we had company."

"I'm sorry, Grace, but they have not checked in in several days. The last we have on them is Rachel's vision of them running from a mob of Romans, and Camp Jupiter preparing for war."

I nod. "Well, I can tell you they got safely away from the Romans. Last I saw of them, they were taking off from Great Salt Lake, Utah, headed east." I checked my watch, and Chiron noticed.

"I believe you have work to do, Grace."

"Yes, I should probably go help my cabin. Mr. Riordan, you probably shouldn't stay long. If any of my siblings find out you're hear, you'll be caught in a mob worse than you'll ever see in the mortal world."

He laughed. "I should probably get going anyway. Chiron, it was good to see you again. I'll be in touch." Rick followed me out.

Once outside, I started to ask him a question. "Mr. Riordan—"

"Please," he interjected. "You don't have to call me that. I've never been one for formalities."

"Uncle Rick?"

He chuckled. "I see you get on the internet." I grinned. "Yes, that's fine. Now what were you going to ask?"

"How did you find out about Camp?"

**Has anyone else read HoH? (multiple times?) Overall, I loved the story, but did he really have to make Nico gay? B/c that's what it sounded like! Really hope he redeems himself in Blood of Olympus. What are your thoughts on HoH?**

**Rick Riordan came to my town! AAAAHHHHH! And I got a signed copy of HoH! Can't believe that actually happened. I've been reading since SoM came out and he hasn't even gotten close to either of my two houses. So excited I actually got to go to one of his tour stops!**

**Ok, now that my rant and my bouncing-off-the-wall happiness is done, thanks to WaterlooRoad and Sunny for reviewing.**

**Sunny: Thanks! Yeah, that's what it sounds like. I hate it. RR just lost some of my respect. I hope he redeems himself in Blood of Olympus.**

**Review please! Reviews equal happy writer, happy writer equals more ideas, and more ideas equals more chapter for the HoH section of this story!**


End file.
